Breaking the Mold
by Indigo Tantarian
Summary: Years ago, Team Rocket tried to create the ultimate pokemon to serve them. The results were disastrous. But Giovanni never gave up easily...
1. Chapter 1

**Breaking the Mold**

All the world was pain. All of it that he knew, in all his seven conscious seconds. He was vaguely aware of something before the pain, like a thick cocoon that kept him warm and brought dreams and voices and feelings. But now it was only pain. Physical pain, sharpness and roughness slashing and crushing him. Mental pain, all around him. Aural pain, the screams and crying and crashes in his ears. Some of the screams were his own.

There were others, too. He could feel them writhing and screaming like him, around him, under him.

With a sputtering cough that ejected some slimy liquid, he managed to raise his head a fraction of an inch. His body felt heavy, and he wasn't sure why this should be. There was wreckage all around, and he was covered in something sticky that made the dust in the room cling to him. He blinked his eyes blearily and tried to get up, but couldn't even rise to his knees. The fear and weakness and confusion washed over him. He collapsed again, eyes shut, and whimpered.

A heavy thing fell, a steel beam. It knocked loose a concrete slab, and he felt himself sliding. The cries intensified, and with them, the terror. He curled his head down into his chest as he rolled and tumbled down a heap of debris. A shrill yelp of pain escaped him as he crashed through a pane of glass.

He came to a stop at the tree-line and gasped to catch his breath. He felt stickiness – blood – all over him. But the terror of the ruined place was quickly giving way to exhaustion. His head lolled on the cool ground as he panted, eyes falling shut.

******************************************

Inside, the moaning had not stopped. A steel cart was pushed aside, and a disheveled man in a torn lab coat crawled out from under some shelves.

"Would you stop that blasted wailing?" he snapped, pulling off his glasses in an attempt to clean them. "Get up."

Two younger scientists, a man and a woman, looked up at him with wild eyes.

"M-my leg," the young man gasped out. He was gripping the limb in question, which was wedged beneath a mass of metal.

The older scientist, the site leader, cast a critical eye at the leg. He picked up an iron bar and deftly levered the wreckage off his subordinate's shin. The other man hissed, but managed to pull his leg out.

"Thank you, Professor Hern," the younger scientist said shakily.

"Celac can wrap that for you," Hern said, kicking a battered first aid kit toward them. "It doesn't look too bad. Is there anyone else?"

Doctor Celac, the woman, stared at the first aid kit. "They were in the break room downstairs."

Professor Hern glanced at the mass of rubble. "It looks like your devotion to your work paid off in the end," he mused. The younger two swallowed.

"In any case," Hern continued, "Get Langes patched up, then help me find the bodies."

"I... I don't think we can make it down there safely, sir," Celac said faintly, grabbing the light brown hair next to her ear as if for support..

"What? No, the specimens. They must all be retrieved, accounted for, and resubmerged as soon as possible. It's too soon for them to be out, the conditioning process hasn't been completed..." He was talking to himself more than the others now. "We can only hope we haven't lost the entire crop of them, it would be a catastrophic setback."

"You're... worried about the specimens!?" Dr. Langes burst out. Celac had turned away and was heaving up the contents of her stomach.

The senior researcher's steely gray-brown eyes met his junior's lighter hazel ones. "You know as well as I do that the others are dead by now. But what I clearly know better than you is that we will all wish we'd gone with them if we have to face the Boss empty-handed. He demands results, and if you think that Giovanni will have any sympathy for our plight whatsoever, you are sadly mistaken. We give him what he wants, or we end up worse-off than your friends around the water cooler. Understood?"

The two nodded hesitantly.

"Good. Now find the bodies. I'll find somewhere to store them."

Dr. Celac began rolling up Dr. Langes's once-khaki pant leg. She took a small brown bottle of peroxide from the first aid kit and splashed it over her colleague's leg. He sucked in his breath as the liquid foamed in his wound.

"Keep still," the dark-haired woman said quietly.

"I'm trying. Do you think -"

"No. Whatever it is, no." She took out a gauze pad and pressed it to the wound to remove some dirt and blood, then began carefully picking bits of metal and glass from his flesh with a tweezers. "And if you're smart, you'll try not to think about it either." She poured a little more peroxide on and patted it dry before pressing a fresh piece of gauze over the cut, which wasn't as bad as it looked. "Can you stand?"

Langes turned on his side and carefully rose to his feet. He winced as he put some weight on the bad leg. "I'll manage."

"Good." Celac rubbed her eyes tiredly. "The specimens should be behind that wall. Be careful."

"You too," the other scientist replied softly as they cautiously picked their way through the rubble.

***********************

Sound. A shout. The inadvertent escapee was jerked back into consciousness.

"What do you mean you can't find it!?"

There was a mumbled reply that he couldn't catch.

"Well then keep looking! They're in no shape to get up and walk away. They certainly couldn't use any powers. If they're not all accounted for -"

"It's not there! It's just not there, we can look all day and not find it!"

"Don't get hysterical. I'll look, you get ahold of yourself." There was a pause, and a soft thump. More murmured words were exchanged.

The one outside was breathing fast. His heart raced as his eyes darted this way and that, searching for some idea of what to do. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he felt that it was not good. His surroundings were strange, all trees and rocks and greenness. The grass and fallen leaves prickled against his bare skin. A chill wind blew up, and as a flock of birds took flight nearby, he began to feel raindrops patter down through the trees. He struggled to heave himself onto his side, but lacked the strength.

A deafening clap of thunder boomed. The sky was split by lightning as rain suddenly poured down in sheets. He curled his head down in the hopes of some protection. And felt himself sliding...

The weak cry of pain and surprise was completely masked by the violent cloudburst. He slid through wet grass and mud, and over small rocks and branches, bumping into larger rocks and trees, all the way down to a small stream. For a moment he lay, half in the cold water, trying to catch his breath.

There was a faint rumble, then a rushing sound that quickly grew louder. He opened a swollen eye just in time to see a mass of brown water surging at him. He sucked in his breath. And it struck.

*****************************

"Look, this window's broken," Dr. Langes called out. Dr. Celac lay where she had fainted, covered in an emergency blanket to protect her from the sudden storm that was now ending.

"They have never moved or used any telekinesis. It couldn't have escaped," replied Professor Hern irritably.

"No, but look," the younger scientist insisted. "It could have slid down the debris and outside."

"I find that highly improbable." The graying man was eying the window now.

"But the others were up there, and the last one mysteriously disappeared," Langes said reasonably.

"Hm. So go out and find it."

Dr. Langes hesitated, then hobbled over to a collapsed section of the wall. He gingerly lowered himself down to inch out on his back.

"In your own time, by all means," Hern snapped.

"Sorry." Langes sped up a bit, but he still eyed and tested each surface before putting his weight on it.

"Is it there?"

"No. But..." Langes looked up at the window and down at the ground. "It would have exited with some force, probably at a fifty-degree angle, so it would have landed..." He limped towards the forest. "...About here. And then rolled, I suspect."

Professor Hern was outside in a few leaps, and strode over to join his subordinate. "Any signs of passage may have been washed away in the storm."

"No, look." Langes took a few steps into the woods and crouched down. "I could be wrong, but I think something slid down the hill in the mud."

The older man raised an eyebrow, impressed, as he stepped over to join the other scientist. "You're more observant than you let on." Then he frowned. "It seems the dam broke again."

"It must have... washed downstream."

The two men gazed thoughtfully down through the peacefully dripping trees at the rushing water below.

"It must have drowned," Hern muttered. "It had no muscle mass or experience to save it. But just in case, we'll need to do a sweep downstream."

Langes gulped and shifted his weight. Hern frowned.

"Go wake Celac up and brief her. You're too crippled to be of much use. I'll have to call Headquarters... but I'll wait until we know more."

"But the Boss... he'll understand that there was nothing we could have done, won't he? That attack came with no warning."

"Oh, he'll understand." Professor Hern was frowning back up at the ruined lab. "There's very little Giovanni doesn't understand. But the real question is, will it matter? This will add up to hundreds of millions of dollars' damage and losses. It won't be taken lightly."

"We'll all lose our jobs and credibility," Langes realized quietly.

Hern regarded him oddly, then barked out a short laugh. "You're rather new here still. Employment may be the least of our worries now."


	2. Chapter 2

**Breaking the Mold**

Part 2

'There you are!'

'You came back!'

'You're alive! We were afraid.'

The newcomer looked around muzzily at the familiar shapes that wouldn't snap into focus. 'You're so distant... What happened?'

'Something came.'

'It was angry.'

'Many... did not survive.' The voice was small, almost inaudible.

Silence.

'But you feel odd, brother. What happened to you?'

'I... could be wrong, but I don't think I came back. I am somewhere else.'

'Somewhere else? Where? How?'

'I don't know. I fell a long way. There were trees and grass and water. And... Them.'

'Them? But they are still here with us.'

'They're so agitated!'

'Maybe... I'm wrong. I don't know. I'm so confused, so tired. And I hurt.'

'Rest,' the voice said gently. 'You will learn more, then you can tell us.'

A pause.

'Is it... just the three of you?'

A longer pause.

'We think so. But we hope some others may only be slow in returning, like you.'

'I... I hope that as well.'

'Be safe...' The voice was so distant now that he could barely hear it. He strained after it.

'Wait!'

He was knocked back. Light flooded his eyes as he fell into the sticky black mud.

"Got another one there?" a rough voice called.

"Sure ain't a Grimer this time. Maybe a Vigoroth fell in? I saw one around the other day."

"Vigoroth don't swim, idiot!"

"Don't look like it's swimming much."

"Vigoroth don't even live near water. Maybe it's a Lombre."

"That ain't a Lombre. You ever seen one? Put all the mud in Hoenn on it, it don't look like that."

"Anyway, who cares what it is? Just get it out and throw it in the holding tank for now."

A large hook slipped around the limp body and dragged it up. He panted as his limbs swung under him.

"Could be a new Pokemon. Or... you think it's a person?"

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life. Shut up and get back to work."

There was a muttered string of curses and complaints. And the one hanging was dropped. He gasped as he slammed down on the solid steel floor. The coppery taste of blood exploded in his mouth. He sank into blackness again.

*****************************

"I need to speak with Giovanni. Professor Hern, Hoenn Research Division. Yes. Yes, I'll wait." The older scientist held the phone to his ear with his shoulder as his fingers blurred over the keyboard of a slim silver laptop that had survived the attack. It was plugged into the emergency generator, along with a metal holding tank.

Doctors Celac and Langes rushed (and limped) back and forth with buckets, salvaging any of the precious nutrient fluid they could and pouring it into the tank where three pale, battered specimens lay face-down, now almost completely submerged. Each small, white face was fitted with an oxygen mask, and electrical wires connected to their chests. Now that they had tasted air, they could not go back.

Professor Hern straightened and took the phone in his hand. He motioned for Celac to take over the computer, and strode away from the roaring generator. "This is Professor Hern. There's been an attack. The lab is destroyed, most of the staff is dead, and we lost most of our specimen crop."

He paused in his pacing for a second. Celac glanced up, but he was completely engrossed in the phone call.

"Celac, Langes and myself," the professor answered. "Yes. Some of the equipment has been salvaged, but I would estimate that 85% of it is unusable." He paused again to listen, still pacing. "No. No." Pause. "No."

The two younger doctors shared a worried look.

"Three. We're reviving and re-submerging them as we speak. Physically, they seem to have escaped with only superficial damage. But the mental toll of an incident like this may be high."

A long pause. Professor Hern stopped pacing, and in the stillness following his furious activity, he seemed to age twenty years.

"There is... one more thing."

A sharp inquiry was barely audible in response.

"One of the specimens is unaccounted for. It fell out of a window and rolled into a flooded drainage ditch." Pause. "Yes, we did a sweep of the area downstream, there was no sign of it. ...Yes. Yes, I'm aware of that."

There was a longer pause. The older scientist might have been a statue, except that he swayed once. Langes had filled the container as much as he could, and now stood clutching the bucket with white knuckles. Celac's hands hesitated in their flight over the keyboard.

"Of course," Hern said finally. "I understand. Yes. We'll be here. They will. Yes. No." He closed the phone with a dull click, and his whole face and posture deflated. The other two held still, waiting.

"We are to maintain the specimens until a cleanup team can get around to assisting us," he finally said, his voice steady but lacking a bit of his usual conviction. "Then we'll be moved to the Sevii branch."

The other two nodded and murmured their subdued assent.

Professor Hern looked up, his eyes still hard as granite. "You're both finished, then?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well keep an eye on them. You never know -" He met their eyes, and something changed in his steely glare. "We'll take shifts. The cleanup team right take days, or weeks..." He trailed off uncharacteristically, looking as if he wanted to say more.

"I'll take the first one," Langes quickly volunteered.

"I'll look for supplies," Celac said. "You should rest first, sir."

Hern nodded shortly and moved, limping slightly, to lower himself down on a concrete slab.

"We need food, water, and shelter," Celac murmured to Langes. "I'll find what I can."

"Be careful," the other scientist said. "If anything happens... scream. See if you can find any radios or phones, too."

"I will. You keep an eye on things here." Her eyes flitted from the specimens to the unconscious professor, slumped over in exhaustion.

"I will, don't worry."

Celac laughed bitterly as she walked away. "Nothing to worry about here."

************************

An odd sound, like a dull screech of metal, woke him. There were strange shadows all around. And strange voices whose words were unfamiliar, but whose meaning came to him like smoke on a breeze.

"Kecle leon kecleon ke." 'I don't know this one.'

"Vig! Vigor! Roth, roth!" 'See it! Get it?'

'It could be useful. Quiet. I working on it.' There were a few metal clanks. 'Stay behind me.'

The shadows shifted. There was a light thump on the floor, followed by a heavier one with something scratching on the ground. He felt something hard poke his back.

'You alive?'

'I – Yes! Who are you?'

Two sets of feet shuffled, startled.

'Why don't you talk? Why you in my head?'

'I am talking. This is how...'

'What you...?'

There was a loud laugh in the distance.

'Quick!'

'What am I...?' Confusion. Uncertainty. Someone had told him once, he was sure of it. Or at least he had known. But the more he tried to remember, the quicker the memory fled.

'What you doing? Get up! Get out! Come on!'

'I can't! I can't move.'

'Can't move? Why, you hurt?'

'Yes, but that's not -'

'No time! Grab him, let's go, go!' A shadowy form sprang up and scuttled up the wall and over the edge. Strong, clawed arms lifted him up, and he was dragged out the same way.

'Muddy,' The one holding him complained. 'Dirty. Long.'

'Get clean later. Move!'

They ran past huge machines, vehicles, buildings, and huge boulders. The two pokemon leapt lightly from rock to rock, and their passenger flopped limply in the larger one's strong grasp.

With a great bound, they entered a small cave in the side of a low cliff. The front was cramped and damp, but the back portion opened up a bit into a small room of rocks and pools of water. A fishy smell mingled with the salty mineral scent of the rocks and the river.

He was dropped into a shallow pool with a small splash.

'Wash off.'

'I told you, I can't move.' He managed to squirm a bit to demonstrate the extent of his mobility, and flinched at his bruises and aching muscles.

'Weak thing? Waste of time?'

'Dirty,' the other one complained again, nudging the newcomer.

'So clean. Wash. Both,' the first one sighed as he crawled over to a trickle of water coming from the ceiling and began to clean himself.

The larger one grumbled, but dragged the muddy pokemon deeper into the water. Rough, hooked claws scraped over him and swished him around in the water. He was dunked under and inhaled a lungful of liquid. Struggling, heaving, he came up gasping for life.

'Don't breathe water,' the first pokemon, Kecleon, admonished. 'You stupid?'

The waterlogged pokemon didn't answer, but kept coughing until he could breathe again. He panted, looking up at the Vigoroth holding him.

'Don't breathe. Again.'

He just had time to suck in a quick breath before he was dunked under the surface again. Something hard and furry scrubbed over his face and head, then waved him around and pulled him up again. He opened his eyes.

The Vigoroth and Kecleon were staring at him.

'What you?' Vigoroth questioned, nudging his thin chest with a claw.

'Wait, wait.' Kecleon sprang down from the rock where he perched. 'I saw a picture once. In a book, on a boat. All legends, many, from all different places. This look little like one. But not around here, no. Kanto, maybe. Far away.'

'What?' Vigoroth pressed.

Kecleon's green was slowly fading to yellow. 'Angry one, hates humans, hates pokemon, hates all...'

'What?' the dripping pokemon asked urgently. 'Who am I?'

'M -' Kecleon stopped, yellow flushing to blue. 'You don't know?'

'No! I... I don't know who I am, or what happened, I only know the place where I was was destroyed, and there were others, but they – most of them are gone now. And I don't know where I am.'

'Mmm...' Kecleon glanced quickly from the confused pokemon to Vigoroth and back. He faded back to his normal green. 'Tell you what. We can help you. You stay were, we'll help you. And you can help us, too.'

'Help you? How?'

'Oh, we'll see. Don't worry about it now. You still pretty dirty. Maybe hungry and tired?'

'Yes! Oh yes, I am...'

'Roth get you cleaned up, I find some food. Then maybe you rest, and we see what happens.' Kecleon trotted towards the mouth of the cave.

'Wait! You didn't say, who am I?'

Kecleon paused, his green graying a bit. '...You not all like picture. Maybe something else. Don't really know.' He was gone in a flash.

Vigoroth splashed more water to wash off the last of the mud, then took the clean pokemon up to a pile of reeds farther back in the cave.

'Please... do you know what I am?'

The lanky pokemon looked him over critically. 'Nope. Something different. Got a name?'

'Not... that I know of, no.' He looked down at his thin white arms that ended in three rounded fingers. 'What do I look like?'

'Strange,' Vigoroth replied. 'Too-thin, too-white. Lots of hurt. Sick. Almost like dead. But live eyes.' He reached down to flick some dirt off the other pokemon's head, and frowned. 'Got a thing on ear.'

'A thing? What thing?'

'Like mark. Like... this.' The sloth pokemon looked around and grabbed some dark plants that had been clinging to the other's tail. He clumsily arranged them into a shape. 'See? On ear, there.'

The pale pokemon strained his eyes, and managed to lift his head a little. 'What is that?'

'Knot, maybe. Yeah, knot.'

'A... knot? What does it mean?'

'Dunno. Call you Knot till we know,' Vigoroth offered.

'Knot? Well... okay.'

'Roth.' Vigoroth tapped his chest. Then he gestured towards the cave mouth. 'Leon.'

Seemingly that was enough, because Roth swung away and shambled over to a clear pool to wash the mud out of his fur. The newly christened Knot watched the strong pokemon groom himself. He tried to move around until he got tired, then closed his eyes because there was nothing else for him to do.


	3. Chapter 3

**Breaking the Mold**

Chapter 3

_"You're listening to Radio Hoenn, WRHN, in the morning. Don't touch that dial, because we've got news, weather, and a whole lot of your favorite songs coming up._

_"Weather today is partly cloudy with a 30% chance of showers around noon, but they'll clear up fast. Cloudy tonight, but we're gonna see some sun tomorrow! Later this week we might get a cool front moving in from the north, but it won't stick around long. It's 72 degrees in Lilycove, 78 in Evergrande, and75 at the Weather Institute. We'll be right back with our guest of the hour, Archie from AMEP."_

_"WRHN! HOENN IN THE MORNING~!"_

'Nice day today. Good day,' Leon the Kecleon commented, crawling back into the cave where the other two waited. 'Good day to go out. Lots of boats.'

Roth growled good-naturedly and ambled over to join his friend. 'Hungry,' he announced.

'You always hungry,' Kecleon complained. 'Eat too much, be a big, fat, useless Slaking. You walking yet, Knot?'

'I'm getting there,' the tall, pale pokemon said optimistically. His limbs had gained some muscle tone, and his wounds had healed. A few light scars were the only remaining evidence of his long journey. He held onto the rough cave wall and pulled himself along slowly, forcing his legs to submit to his wishes. His long purple tail acted as a brace, inching along with him.

As he turned back to the wall, Leon eyed him intently, sizing him up, his colors shifting marginally.

'Keep trying,' he said cheerfully, going back to his usual bright green. 'We go get some food, be back in a while. C'mon, Roth.'

As the two left, Knot glanced up. His eyes narrowed as the curled tail slipped out of sight. Something stirred in the foggy recesses of his mind, but it was gone again before he could grasp at it.

*****************************************

_ "And the Weather Institute has informed us that all visitors to Mount Pyre should avoid the summit next week due to the high winds and lightning strikes."_

_"That'll put a damper on preparations for the annual Pyre Fly festival, won't it? Eheheh."_

_"Yes. Yes, it will. Hardly a laughing matter for the Hex Society, I'm guessing."_

_"Well, Mr. Archie, do you have anything else to add about the environment in Hoenn? How's the river cleanup project going?"_

_"It's going well. I'd say we're around 75% there. But there's something else that all Hoenn residents should be aware of, especially those in the greater Lilycove area. We've been noticing that our psychic-type pokemon have shown a dramatic rise in power and general energy levels lately. Trainers in the area, even those just passing by, have confirmed it. We don't have an explanation yet, but we think it may be some sort of atmospheric disturbance. The Magma branch is looking into the matter, and we're hoping to have something to tell you soon."_

_"And here I thought my Kadabra was just getting stronger! We'll sure look forward to hearing about that. But we're just about out of time for this week, so I'd like to thank Archie, co-founder of the AMEP group, for taking a break from TV to do an interview with us!"_

_"Thank you, Ted."_

_"One more thing before you go. What's the best radio station in Hoenn?"_

_"I'd have to say KLAM."_

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"...This is WRHN, Hoenn in the Morning."_

_"WRHN! HOENN IN THE MORNING~!"_

_"Oh..."_

Doctor Langes turned off the radio thoughtfully and looked over at Doctor Celac. "Do you think that could be our missing specimen?"

"I'd be willing to bet my life that it is," interjected Professor Hern.

The three looked up. A bunch of plainclothes Team Rocket grunts were sorting through the last of the rubble, picking out anything worth saving and disposing of the rest. Now and then one of the scientists had to stop them from throwing away something useful. The specimens and the small cadre of Team Rocket were currently staying in a Secret Base that one of that grunts had her Golbat carve out of the mountainside.

A few representatives of the AMEP, Aqua-Magma Environmental Protection group, had stopped by to investigate a while ago. They seemed satisfied with the cover story, that a research lab had collapsed due to faulty materials imported from Orre.

"We're done here, Professor," a female grunt said. "If you three are ready, we'll start loading the specimens into the truck."

"I think one of us should stay behind and keep searching for the missing one."

"That's being taken care of," the grunt said with a smirk. "Giovanni's dispatching a team right now to search every inch of Hoenn."

"They'll need to start around Lilycove, and watch for bursts of psychic energy," Hern said, narrowing his eyes at the grunt's tone.

"They know how to do their job."

"Fine." The scientist threw up his hands in disgust. "It can be on their heads when they don't find anything."

"Except Giovanni knows you're the one who lost it in the first place."

Hern turned angrily and stalked towards the Secret Bast. "If you're finished spouting your mouth, we have to get the specimens packed on your truck."

"Can we drop her in the ocean on the way home?" wondered Dr. Celac, eying the smug grunt.

"I wouldn't mind it," said Langes, scratching a mosquito bite. "She'd be right at home with the Sharpedo." He looked around into the trees. "Hey... you ever get the feeling you're being watched?"

Celac turned to scrutinize the greenery. "...Probably just a pokemon. Come one, let's go help."

"Okay..."

*****************************************

Leon turned slowly to Roth, who was hanging in the dense leaves beside him. His eyes spun.

'What thinking?'

'That it good thing Knot stay home. Stay here, I want see something.'

The Kecleon scuttled down the tree, shifting to brown to match the trunk, then green to blend in with the grass. He clung to the shadows, creeping through the trees towards the Secret Bast, watching the humans and their tame pokemon mill about. His tongue flicked out thoughtfully. Turning grayish-brown, he crawled over to the rocky wall and slipped into the small cave.

Inside it was warm and dry. There was a loud whirring noise coming from a machine in the back, which was hooked up to a big metal box. A man with longish gray hair was angrily throwing switches and mashing buttons while a few other humans, mostly in black clothes, picked things up and carried them out. Leon crawled along the wall, pressed as flat as he could get, until he was up near the ceiling, nearly over the metal container.

What he saw there nearly made him fall in.

There were three other Knots. One seemed to be missing a finger. They were covered in healing scars, but the wounds did not seem fresh. Leon's tongue flicked in and out. His rotating eyes darted around the room. Too many people. He slunk down into a corner behind the tank.

'?'

"Kec!" Leon jumped.

'Who is that?' asked a voice in his head.

'What is it?' another joined in.

'It is not us, and not them.' Three voices that sounded like Knot, but not quite. 'What are you?'

'...Kecleon,' he answered, trying to sound confident. 'Who you?'

'We? We are we, we are us,' one replied.

'That no answer,' Leon said, a little annoyed. He eyed the tank, realizing that its inhabitants were as helpless as Knot had been a couple of months ago. 'What you?'

'What?' There seemed to be murmuring as they consulted.

'Specimens.'

'Warriors, some day.'

'Warriors? Who you fight? You can't move!'

'We will train. When we are ready, we will be unstoppable.'

Leon thought for a moment, his eyes spinning slowly. 'Why?'

Silence.

'Why? Because... we will.'

'I know you smarter than that. Why? Got many enemies?'

Muttering. 'No.'

'Maybe one...'

'Maybe one not many. Maybe one enemy, and three you, fight once, maybe twice. Finished.'

'There is a fourth,' the highest voice offered.

A pause.

'You know,' the most self-assured voice said. 'You know our brother. You know about us.'

Leon's heart raced. 'Him, yeah. I found him, fixed him up. Trying to find out more now. Didn't know about you. He said something, I thought it dream.'

The three voices converged in excitement. Leon waited until it died down.

'So you don't know who, what or why you here.'

'Do you?' countered one.

'Maybe. Maybe more than you. But not much.' He hesitated. 'Ever heard of Mewtwo?'

There was a kind of mental jolt.

'N – no. But... I think we should have.'

'What is it?'

'A very strong pokemon. Made by humans to be their weapon. It not like being used, so escaped. Very angry, hated everyone. Not many know about it. I saw a book with it. Only couple people saw it. Years ago. Picture looks like you. Kind of.'

Silence.

'We... are Mewtwo?'

'Probably. Mostly.' Leon's eyes darted around. 'I should go.'

'Our brother... give him our greetings.'

A pause.

'Tell him what you told us,' one ordered; almost threatened.

'Right. Yeah.' Leaon was edging back along the wall to the cave mouth.

"Hey, when did that thing get in?" a man in a long white coat said loudly.

Two black-clad humans ran over with sticks. Leon fled into the trees.


	4. Chapter 4

**Breaking the Mold**

4

Leon and Roth stopped at one of the cargo ships to steal a few workers' lunches and a crate of mixed berries bound for Johto before heading back home. Roth bounded along with the food, and Leon followed him along the river bank.

'You okay?' Roth asked. 'Been yellow since human-cave.'

'I fine,' the Kecleon snapped, shifting back to green. 'No reason not to be.'

Knot stood inside to greet them, supported by his tail. 'What did you get today? I'm starving!'

'I too,' Roth commented, drool forming at the corner of his mouth as he stared down at the bags on the crate. He set it down carefully, his eyes never moving.

Knot, however, only had eyes for Leon. He had been watching the reptilian pokemon for weeks now. He could sense that something was up, and it had something to do with him. Today it was especially clear in the other pokemon's slightly hunched posture, shifty eyes, and his crackly-nervous feel as he drew closer.

'Hey Leon,' he said quietly. 'Where have you been?'

The Kecleon's eyes widened a bit and he turned yellower. 'We... we went to find lunch. Here.' He jerked his head towards Roth.

'Got ham sandwich, sushi, and spaghetti,' Roth announced. He handed the ham to Leon, who took it quickly, and the sushi to Knot, keeping the spaghetti for himself. 'Berries too.'

'Thanks,' Knot said, his intense gaze never leaving Leon.

Roth dug into his food with an enthusiastic neatness that Knot had grown accustomed to over time. The hairy pokemon devoured the pasta, shoveling it into his mouth without it ever touching his fur. When he finished, he meticulously licked his lips and claws clean.

Meanwhile, the tension was tangible between Knot and Leon. They took turns taking bites of their respective meals with dignified restraint.

Roth cracked open the berry crate and started eating indiscriminately, making happy little grunting noises now and then.

Leon slowly took a bluck berry and fingered it softly. He glanced up at Knot, then looked away. Knot waited. After a moment the smaller pokemon looked up again and took a breath.

The sound of a falling rock echoed through the cave. It was followed by a loud groan, a short incomprehensible argument, and some muttering about "damn Rockets."

The three Pokemon straightened suspiciously.

'You hide,' Leon ordered Knot. 'Now. Roth, c'mon.'

The two agile pokemon crept to the mouth of the cave. Knot crawled behind a rock.

"They mess up the whole region, invade our turf, and expect us to clean up after them?" a female voice complained. "What are we even looking for?"

"Dunno, the boss didn't say," replied another voice. "Probably a machine. Or maybe a pokemon, but I can't think of what could do something like that. I guess we'll – Augh!"

On cue, Roth leapt down from the ceiling, bounding around, waving his arms and shrieking madly. Leon remained on the wall, but his long tongue shot out repeatedly, smacking the humans on their heads and anywhere else he could reach.

"What!? What the hell?" the one in a blue bandana cried, waving her arms to try to ward off the attacks. "What's going on!?"

"That's – it's territorial behavior," shouted the other, clutching her red and black hood around her head and stumbling backwards. "This must be their home."

"What is it?" called the first. "A Vigoroth and a... Politoed? Kecleon?"

"Kecleon." The one in red spat a piece of hair out of her mouth.

"Two normal types wouldn't be responsible for this. Let's get out of here!"

"Right!"

The two fled. Kecleon's tongue retracted with a snap. Vigoroth snorted at their backs, and shook off his fur in disgust.

Leon dropped to the ground on all fours, his heart pounding, his eyes spinning. He glanced at Roth worriedly, then slipped back inside. Knot pushed himself up on a rock.

'What was that about?' he asked.

'Sit,' sighed Leon. 'I tell you things.'

'About time...' Knot grumbled as he clambered up to sit on the rock. Roth flopped down within arm's reach of the crate of berries, and Leon perched on a pile of small rocks.

'We go to a place today... Something broke and fell. Not long ago. There a cave, humans' pokemon make. I go to see.'

The lizard pokemon paused and flicked his tongue twice.

'And? What was inside?'

'Lots of humans,' Leon hedged. 'Moving out. And... a big metal box-thing. With some water-stuff in it. It smell weird. And... things in it.'

Knot frowned, both at the subtle change in the Kecleon's voice and from something else he couldn't quite put his finger on. 'What things?'

'Things... like you,' Leon admitted unhappily. Knot straightened. Roth jerked back in surprise.

'Like Knot? More?' the Vigoroth asked, disbelieving. 'You not say to me!'

'Three of them,' Knot prompted. 'Where?'

'Over... upstream.'

'I have to go there!' Knot declared, sliding off his rock. 'Now.'

'You dumb?' Leon scoffed. 'You can't walk.'

The taller pokemon shook his head angrily, lashing his tail. 'I'll crawl if I have to! Get out of my way.' He lurched forward.

Roth caught him with a claw, though Knot tried to pull away. 'Wait. Many humans, bad for you. Can't run, can't hide fast. Wait.'

'Yeah... anyway, there... probably more I tell you,' Leon said reluctantly.

'Like?' Knot prompted.

'...Like I know what you. Probably. Not exactly like. But you look like picture of... Mewtwo.'

Knot's head jerked up, and he stopped struggling against Roth. 'Mewtwo...' he repeated softly.

'Really powerful. Legendary. Hates all, always angry, only wants revenge, kills all...' Leon trailed off, watching Knot anxiously. 'Not know much... most who meet, die. Or memory dies.

'I am Mewtwo...' the white pokemon murmured, looking down at his hands. After a moment he looked up at Leon. An odd glint was in his eyes. 'Why did you not tell me before?'

'I... not sure,' Leon said nervously. Mewtwo's dark eyes bored into him. 'And... scared you get mad.'

'Yes. I can see that. Didn't you think I'd get mad if you didn't tell me?' He seemed to almost glow in the dim light of the cave.

'Yeah...' Leon squirmed uncomfortably. 'I not sure before. I told you.'

For a split second, Mewtwo blazed with unbridled power and rage. 'And you told me nothing at all!' Leon shrank back, and Roth whimpered quietly. 'All this time I've wasted, not knowing! I could have been finding the others!'

'No time wasted,' protested Leon weakly. 'Look. You weak, but getting stronger. It take time. Can't do anything about anything when you can't move.'

'I did not know who I was! And you knew!' His voice sliced through the others' minds like a jagged shard of glass.

'Matter so much?' Roth spoke up hesitantly. Mewtwo turned on him, and he flinched a bit but continued. 'Why care? Could be Dunsparse, or Magikarp. Still here, still same. You go out be Mewtwo now, or before, you die. Want die, Knot?'

The vengeance was slowly fading from his eyes. 'No... But he still should have told me.'

'Maybe,' Roth shrugged, once more as relaxed as could be. 'Probably. But he not. Told you now. Finished.'

Knot slowly looked back over at Leon, who was crouched low to the ground. 'Yes. And you did take me in when I was helpless. I'm... not ungrateful for that.'

Leon nodded hopefully.

Knot's face hardened. 'Do. Not. Lie to me. Again. Or withhold anything from me. Because I will know. You know that.'

'Y – yes,' Leon murmured, his eyes glazed over. 'I won't. I promise.'

'Good,' the pale pokemon said simply, and stumbled over to the wall, pulling himself along to the back of the cave to be alone with his thoughts.

The other two gazed after him, then slowly looked at each other. Kecleon was fluorescent yellow. Vigoroth scratched his back.

'Not happy,' the larger one commented. He looked at his friend. 'Never told me either.'

'You'd've told. Or he'd've known,' Leon barely whispered.

'Didn't know such a big deal.' Roth shrugged, grabbing a berry.

'Now you know.'

'Yep.'

************************************

"Look at this!" The former leader of Team Magma tossed a chart to Team Aqua's former boss as he walked in the door. "That's our psychic energy readings from the past hour."

"1:43, 7.26. Higher than normal, like it's been lately," read Archie. "1:45, only 0.3. 1:46, 10.8. That's off the chart! ...And 1:48, back to 7-ish." He frowned. "That spike, was it everywhere?"

"No, it was concentrated near the Lilycove harbor," Maxie replied. "All the other times reflect the energy in the atmosphere anywhere nearby. But this, 1:46, is definitely the one we're looking for."

"You think our search teams'll find anything?"

"I should think so. This thing is bound to be glaringly obvious, and not small. I doubt that we'll miss it. I instructed the teams to check in with me now and then, so if one disappears, we'll have some idea of their location at least."

"Good thinking," Archie said, nodding. "Have they found anything yet?"

"A few have been attacked by wild pokemon, but nothing that could have done this."

"Do you think it's a machine or a pokemon... or something else entirely?"

"I'm leaning towards a pokemon right now. This reading puts it on par with Groudon and Kyogre, but not consistently. I want to know what we're dealing with here."

"So do I. Before those damn Team Rocket thugs find it and do whatever they're planning to do."

Maxie grimaced. "If we had a police force like Sinnoh's, this wouldn't happen."

"Sure it would, look how far Team Galactic got, and the police barely did a thing."

"That's just laziness and incompetence. We could do better."

Archie's eyebrows raised. "Well? Nobody else is stepping up."

"We'd need more manpower," said Maxie. "And the public may not like that from us."

"Then we need to show them what they're allowing in their backyards, and what we can keep out for them." Archie banged his hands on the desk.

"It's worth a try," Maxie agreed, shrugging. "Let's see what we can dig up. And we can start by having our admin teams keep an eye on that lab that fell down up in the hills. I don't trust their 'research' for a second."

"Right. And we'll keep up patrols in the area. We're bound to catch something sooner or later."

"I just hope it's sooner."


	5. Chapter 5

**Breaking the Mold**

#5

A misty rain hung over Lilycove as the three pokemon left their riverside cave. Roth shambled along on all fours, pausing now and then to wait for the others. He frequently wiped what moisture he could off his face.

The other two proceeded a bit more slowly. Leon and Knot picked their way among the rocks until they got up to the trees. Knot still looked awkward, but he was walking steadily now.

'I could have gone alone,' he mentioned to Leon.

'Yeah. Maybe better we come,' the Kecleon said. 'Maybe nothing left, but we know where.'

'I appreciate it.'

After their initial confrontation, Knot had decided to be civil with Leon. If not for the Kecleon's assistance, he didn't know where he'd be. And after a while, Leon had stopped turning yellow every time they were within sight of each other. Any time he found himself losing his temper, Knot forced himself to think of a Vigoroth's reputation for wild, unpredictable behavior, and how calm and level-headed Roth always was. It was a challenge in the beginning, but it grew easier as Leon proved his sincerity and Knot grew accustomed to keeping his temper.

Roth and Leon took to the trees after a short while. Knot, not built for climbing, kept his feet on the ground. They followed the river, making their way diagonally up the steep incline until they finally got to the clear space in the hills.

As Leon expected, it was deserted. However, the old building foundation and collapsed secret base were still easy to see.

Knot came up out of the trees slowly. 'I... know this place. Like from a dream. It feels...' He frowned. 'It feels different. Wrong.'

'Friends gone,' suggested Roth with a shrug. He knuckled over to the collapsed secret base.

'Maybe,' Leon said, his eyes rotating slowly. 'Still, careful.'

'Right,' said Knot, stepping up to the rock slide. It looked fairly recent.

'Something here,' Roth mumbled, poking at a shiny thing amidst the rocks with the tip of his long claw.

'What is it?' Knot came closer to look, then reached out for whatever it was.

Small rocks scattered as two shining metal orbs shot out of the rubble. Dark energy crackled to life between them, grabbing Knot's limbs and stretching them apart. The tall pokemon shrieked in pain and surprise. Roth leapt at one, teeth and claws bared, but was knocked back.

"Got 'im!" a triumphant voice exclaimed.

Two humans in dark hats and well-made dark suits popped up from behind some rocks and bushes. They shared a high-five before approaching the captured pokemon.

"That was too ea-YAH!" One of them jumped, and kicked the Kecleon's teeth off his ankle. His partner was trying to dodge the rather stunned, but still dangerous, attacks of a Vigoroth.

"What the hell's this about!? Machoke! Take care of this!"

"Skarmory, you too!"

It only took one karate chop from the Machoke, followed by a wing attack from the Skarmory, to knock Leon out. He fell over backwards. Roth had more stamina, and put up a decent fight, but soon enough he was taken down by a vital throw. The tame pokemon returned to their balls.

"Should we grab these, too?"

"Nah, the Boss doesn't need 'em."

Small rocks tumbled down the slope as two newcomers, a man in red and black and a woman in blue, arrived.

"Hold it right there," the bushy-haired woman demanded. "You're in violation of the Rare Pokemon Protection Act."

The two Rockets looked at each other.

"Excuse me?"

"If you paid attention to the news, Kecleon and all Slakoth evolutions are protected in this area," said the tall man in a red hood with a scornful grin.

"We don't want 'em," replied the taller Rocket agent. "We're just here for what's ours."

"Then you had no reason to weaken them this much," the orange-haired woman insisted. "And that..." she nodded towards the struggling Knot, "needs to be brought to Evergrande's attention. It's not native to Hoenn, and I doubt it came here of its own will."

The Rockets looked at each other again.

"Are they serious?" scoffed the shorter one. "They sure grow 'em lame in Hoenn."

"And these were the badasses. This place is ripe for the pickin'."

The woman in blue was pale with rage. "Just who the hell do you think -"

"Golbat!" The shorter Rocket hurled a pokeball. Red light solidified into a great bat, all wings and mouth. "Bite!"

With a screech almost too high to hear, the Golbat dove.

"Shelly, watch out!" the man in red cried. He flung out a pokeball of his own. A shaggy Mightyena sprang out, stopping the Golbat's descent just inches from the former Team Aqua admin's face.

"What are you, monsters?" the Magma admin snarled. "You can't attack humans with pokemon!"

"That's why you got beat so easy," the tall Rocket said, grinning. "Machoke!"

******************************

Knot strained against his bonds long after he understood the futility of it. A few times he almost thought he had a chance, but as soon as he felt the strength to get free, the horrible crackling darkness grew in response. Seeing Roth and Leon fall enraged him, as did the following battle between the humans. Pokemon were defeated on each side, and finally the two native Hoennites fell, one poisoned, one paralyzed, and both severely injured.

And he could barely twitch his fingers. Impotent rage set in.

The two Rockets shared a grin as they withdrew their pokemon.

"Time to go, Nelson?" the taller one asked.

"Past time, Capone. Let's blow this joint." The shorter man took a remote control out of his pocket. Knot's arms and legs were pulled together. Capone stuck a metal pole through them and hefted one end of it up. Nelson took the other, then looked back at the bloodstained ground.

"Think they're dead yet?"

"Who cares? They're close enough. That'll teach their boss to mess with Team Rocket."

The duo released a Skarmory and a Fearow, and climbed on their backs, still holding the pole with Knot suspended from it. They lifted off in perfect synch, and were soon flying west.

"Been a pleasure workin' with you," Nelson said with a feral grin.

"Likewise. I don't usually play well with others. Whatcha doin' with your bonus and time off?"

"Saffron City gaming corner, all the way."

"I get stuck there too much. It's the Orange Islands for me."

"There's nothing there. You'll be bored stiff."

"I'm plannin' on it. It'll make getting back to work sound like fun."

"I guess."

After what seemed like hours over the open sea, land came in sight again. The mountains of Sinnoh could be seen for miles around. As they crossed over the shore line, Knot let himself fall limp with despair. He closed his eyes, his mind buzzing with nothingness. And he felt himself slip, just a bit.

His eyes flew open. The two Rocket agents in their streamlined black outfits hadn't noticed. But he could see that the dark energy's grip on him didn't cover quite as much of his white skin anymore. So he sucked in a deep breath of cold salty air, sighed it out, shut his eyes, and tried to relax and clear his mind.

It was harder when he tried. Images of Leon and Roth kept popping into his mind. And the two smirking Rockets. And the other two humans, lying in their own blood on the grass. But millimeter by millimeter, Knot could feel the strange devices losing ground against him. As they flew near the massive peak rising up over Sinnoh, the machines holding him began to pulse and wobble. Knot saw his chance. He relaxed. And with a feeling like pulling a stick out of thick, sticky mud, he dropped.

"Hey! What -"

"Get it! Catch it!"

"What do you think I'm doing!?"

"Well hurry up!"

"Don't get in my way!"

Suddenly the yelling stopped.

"...Back home."

"Right."

Knot realizes that his descent had slowed, and finally stopped altogether. He twisted and flailed, trying to turn upright, and caught a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye. His head whipped around, bringing him face-to-face with a small, grayish creature with a blue head and curious golden eyes.

*********************************

"This cannot be tolerated," Maxie hissed through his teeth as he watched the paramedics gently place the two stretchers in the helicopter. A couple of rangers followed the wounded admins with the unconscious Vigoroth and Kecleon.

"No. We have to retaliate," Archie growled in agreement. "If Team Rocket thinks they can stroll into Hoenn, perform genetic experiments, and nearly kill our people with their pokemon, they're SORELY mistaken!"

"Excuse me," a woman in a medical mask cut in. "We should hurry. They're losing precious time."

They ran for the helicopter, and it lifted off seconds later.

"Sorry," Tabitha mumbled from where he lay, then coughed violently. Blood flew, spattering the blanket that covered him.

"Don't be," Maxie said tightly. "Team Rocket will be sorry. They'll pay for this..." He turned to Archie. "Call Steven and Wallace. We need a conference immediately."

Archie nodded stiffly, whipping out his phone and dialing. "I'll have them meet us at the hospital." He listened to the phone ring, and watched Shelly flinch a little at each labored breath. His jaw tightened.

"Hello?" a voice on the other end of the line said.

"This is Archie. There's been an attack. We'll be at the Mauvile emergency room. We need to talk to you. Now."


	6. Chapter 6

**Breaking the Mold**

Six

The two pokemon drifted down and to the east, as if riding a gentle breeze off the mountain.

'So who are you? And what were you doing in the sky?' the small blue one asked. Its voice was clear and crisp as the air around them.

'I'm Knot. I was being taken to Team Rocket's headquarters, I think. Who are you? Where are we?'

The smaller pokemon's two tails flicked. 'I'm Azelf. This is Mount Coronet, in Sinnoh. You're a Mewtwo, aren't you? I thought there was only one. You're not that old.'

'There are at least four of us. Five, counting the original. Where are we going?' Knot looked down at the rocky trails below.

'To my lake.' Azelf flitted up and did a tight somersault. 'Why can't you fly or do anything else?'

'I... I don't know. I just don't know how, I guess.'

'Hm. Maybe we'll fix that,' said the double-tailed pokemon.

They soared over the rugged landscape. Soon rocky mountainside gave way to trees. At last, they touched down on a small island in the middle of a clear lake. Magikarp swam peacefully beneath the surface.

'This is my home,' Azelf said. 'Come in.'

Knot followed the smaller pokemon inside the cave in the island. Inside was one good-sized room. The walls were smooth, and the sandy floor was covered in shallow puddles.

'Why do you put so much energy out when you're not even doing anything?' Azelf asked curiously, flicking back to circle Knot.

'I don't know,' the Mewtwo admitted. 'I don't know much about myself, really.'

'Hm...' The little pokemon frowned, almost disapprovingly. 'Weird. Where'd you come from?'

'Hoenn.' Knot looked around. 'Is this water okay to drink? I'm so thirsty!'

'Oh, sure. Go out to the lake, it's fine.'

'Thank you...' Mewtwo stepped carefully out of the cave. The lake water was oddly still, only rippling slightly when a water pokemon below touched the surface. There was a small flock of Psyduck in the trees, but they moved silently, as if unwilling to disturb the peace. Knot knelt by the water and dipped his face down, since his hands were no good for scooping up liquid.

The water in Lilycove had been in constant motion. Even in Leon and Roth's cave, it was always dark and dripping. For the first time, the tall pokemon got a good look at his face. Large, dark eyes stared critically back at him from a round, white head that tapered down into a small muzzle. Two ears perched on top of his head, longish but thin. They curled slightly at the tip. He turned to the side, and he could see what was possibly a knot on one. It looked like it could be some kind of stylized writing or some other symbol, but it was hard to tell in the clear water. The face frowned a bit. He lowered his mouth to drink.

Leathery wings glided silently above. They circled.

********************************

"I'm not saying we should sit back and do nothing," Steven Stone, Hoenn's former champion said. "Just that we shouldn't act without thinking everything through. It could be dangerous. It already has been." He nodded towards the hospital ward they stood outside of.

"I hope you're not implying that WE acted rashly by monitoring Team Rocket's actions after their scientists' suspicious activities and lies," Maxie growled through clenched teeth. "Should any of us be expected to be prepared to defend ourselves against a direct attack by trained pokemon now? Is that what we've come to?"

"That's another thing," Archie joined in. "Isn't it the Elite Four's responsibility to uphold the rules of the Pokemon League in Hoenn? You can't allow pokemon to be used like that right under your noses."

Wallace, the current champion and water pokemon master of the region, ran a hand through his long bangs thoughtfully. "That's true," he agreed. "But by now they've left Hoenn. We don't know where they are now. We don't know where they're heading."

"I've got my Crobat tracking them," Archie said darkly. "As soon as it returns, I'll know."

"And I'd bet my life that they're from Kanto or Johto," added Maxie, his voice rising as he spoke. "The whole continent's practically owned by Team Rocket. Most of the smaller islands, too. It's sickening! Giovanni won't stop until he's got the entire world under his thumb!" He pounded the wall angrily.

"We've been keeping an eye on the news," Steven said soothingly. "We know. We're working on defensive measures already. Let us know as soon as your Crobat gets back, I'd be interested in its findings. And I'll see what Devoncorp can offer you, in the meantime."

"And I'll speak to the Elite Four at once, and contact our counterparts in Kanto," Wallace said.

The former gang leaders glanced at each other, then back at the younger men.

"We appreciate your offer," Archie said. "But we don't expect you to help us. We only asked you here to tell you what we intend."

"We'll go through all the proper channels, keep it lawful and clean," said Maxie. "But we're going to deal with this ourselves. We feel it's an insult to us personally, as well as to the Hoenn region. No, to all people and pokemon everywhere."

"I understand your feelings," Steven replied slowly. "And I think you're right. You have good reason to seek retribution. Would you like our help anyway?"

Archie and Maxie hesitated. Then Maxie, the prouder and more set in his ideals of the two, spoke up.

"Any assistance you would be willing to offer... would be appreciated," he said stiffly.

"I'm glad to hear you said that," said Wallace, all smiles. "We'll start immediately. Please keep us informed."

"You do the same," Maxie responded icily.

"Of course."

**************************

'Hey! You, Crobat!' Knot called, his face dripping with water. 'Come down here.'

The wings overhead hesitated, broke their smooth rhythm. The small pokemon dropped through the air until it was hovering slightly above Knot's head.

'What are you doing?' Mewtwo demanded. 'Are you following me? Or looking for Azelf?'

'Follow. You,' the Crobat admitted awkwardly. It was breathing hard.

'Why?' Knot asked suspiciously.

'Master asked.'

'Who is your master? Someone in Team Rocket?'

'No, no. Team Rocket bad. Master Archie.' The Crobat's flight was becoming choppy.

'You're making friends?' Azelf asked, flying lazily out to join them.

'It followed me from Hoenn,' Knot said, eying the flapping pokemon.

'Huh, that's a long way to fly on your own. I guess you should come in,' the two-tailed pokemon said reluctantly. Crobat and Mewtwo followed Azelf into the cave. The Crobat hovered for a moment before settling down on the sandy floor and folding its wings. Its eyes flitted around nervously.

'So why were you following me?'

'Master said, follow Team Rocket. Follow. They not see.' The bat pokemon hunched down.

'But why did he say that? What does he want?'

'See where go. What do.'

'Then why did you follow me instead of them?' Knot asked.

Crobat shifted uncomfortably. 'They want you lots. Master want know.'

'I thought your master was more interested in Team Rocket. Why bother seeking me out?'

The bat pokemon rustled its wings. '...Long way.' It brightened. 'You know where go?'

'Not exactly. They mentioned being at Saffron City Gaming corner a lot. And possibly not far from the Orange Islands.'

'Saffron's in Kanto,' Azelf put in. 'And the Orange Islands are pretty close.'

'I go,' Crobat said, stretching its wings. 'Bring back thing, tell where.'

'Just a thing that says where they are?' Azelf asked. 'Hold on.' It disappeared. Knot and Crobat stared at the place it had been, and a moment later it was back, holding a colorful piece of paper.

'This should do. "Visit Saffron City Gaming Corner, in the heart of Kanto! Everyone's a winner! Fabulous prizes!" All that kind of stuff,' Azelf read.

'Did you just... go to Kanto?' Knot asked, genuinely impressed.

'Oh, no. Just Veilstone, it's not far. They've got a game corner there too, and they advertise for all kinds of places. People travel from all over to spend their money there.'

'I take?' Crobat asked hopefully. 'Bring to Master? Now?'

'Sure,' Azelf shrugged. 'But if you go now, you'll probably run out of strength as soon as you get over the ocean. Rest for a while, it's a long trip back to Hoenn.'

'Yes,' the smaller pokemon agreed fervently, looking around the cave.

'The forest outside is nice and quiet. Lots of good branches for you.'

Crobat looked up, startled. 'No here?'

'No. Not here. Sorry! Here's your paper.' The blue and gray pokemon rolled the flyer up tight and handed it to the bat pokemon.

'Yes...' the pinkish pokemon said, and launched itself off the floor to flutter outside and across the water.

'Are you going back to Hoenn, too?' Azelf asked Knot.

Mewtwo considered for a moment. 'No...' he said slowly. 'At least not right now. I need to go to Kanto. But first, would you teach me to... do whatever it is I'm supposed to be able to do?'

'Hm... no,' Azelf decided. 'No, I won't. I don't think I could do all that, a lot of it's specific to you. But I'll give you directions. If you go north from here to Snowpoint City, there's a dock. Once a month, there's a ship that goes to Vermillion City in Kanto.'

'How do I get there?' Knot frowned, undaunted.

'From here, head north. Pass through Veilstone City, go northwest past Celestic Town, through Mount Coronet and up through the snowfields to Snowpoint. There's a lake there like this one, where Uxie lives. He might help you. Or you might find something useful along the way. Lots of mystical places and all that.' Azelf flicked its tails indifferently.

'North and west. Okay,' Knot said. 'I guess that means I should go now.'

'That'd be good,' Azelf agreed cheerfully. 'I like my space.'

'Okay. Well... thank you for your help.'

'Sure. Good luck!'

******************************

Roth eyed the electrified Safari Zone fence warily. His white fur bore scorch marks from multiple tries to climb out.

'Need out,' he informed Leon, for the 437th time.

'I know. Me too.' The Kecleon had only tried to escape once. He refused to go near the fence now.

'How?' Roth whined, rubbing his claws together nervously.

'Maybe... maybe we wait for night,' Leon said. '...No. Wait for late afternoon, hot and all humans a little tired. When one comes in, we sneak out. Stay low, so they not see. If they see, run.' He shrugged. 'Once we out, they never catch us again.'

'Really?' the Vigoroth asked anxiously. 'Really work?'

'Don't know. It should.' The truth was that they'd tried everything short of letting a human catch them. Leon was running out of ideas. They were both running out of stamina and the ability to think clearly. The Safari Zone was worse than a prison, and they avoided the bushes and tall grass like the plague. There was no peace, between being overcrowded and hiding from overzealous trainers.

'Think Knot okay?' Roth asked, pacing feverishly.

'Don't know. Hope so. Probably in Kanto now.'

The two were quiet, knowing how unlikely their friend's safety was, given his situation the last time they'd seen him.

'Think he come back?'

'...No. I don't think so.'

Roth whimpered softly, staring up at the fence again.


	7. Chapter 7

**Breaking the Mold**

7

The wind whistled through the cavernous innards of Mount Coronet. Zubat screeched back and forth, almost too high for any other creatures' ears. Geodudes rumbled through the tunnels. Now and then a Cleffa giggled, or a Chingling jingled.

Knot sucked in an irritated breath. He had easily slipped around Veilstone through the forest and fields, and made his way to the great mountain. He had been wandering around for hours now. Every time he felt like he was starting to get somewhere, he ran into a huge boulder or a deep pool of water that couldn't be avoided. He could climb over some of the rocks, but he didn't have the stamina to deal with many of them. And the water was hopeless. He couldn't swim, and stepping in above his knees made him uncomfortable.

Finally Mewtwo climbed a stone stairway to a plateau of rock inside the largest cave, and flopped down. The ground was cold and hard. He frowned as he lay back.

A Cleffa skipped over his arm and stared into his face. He blew on it, and it squeaked and ran off.

'I don't suppose you'd show me a shortcut out of here?' he tried.

There was no answer. The cave pokemon were curious about him, but not too curious. They wouldn't talk to him or get too close. The Cleffa had been especially bold, but it wouldn't make that mistake again.

'You're all worthless,' Knot informed the general population of the cave. No one seemed overly upset by this. He closed his eyes and tried to relax his aching muscles.

'There you are, brother!'

'Oh? I haven't heard your voices in so long!'

'We have been busy. Did the Kecleon speak to you?'

'Yes, he did. Quite a while ago. After he'd been to see you.'

'Good. So you know.'

'We weren't sure of him. He felt deceptive.'

'He was afraid.' Knot suddenly felt a bit defensive of Leon. 'I wasn't sure for a while, either. But he told me. We are Mewtwo. Where are you now?'

'In a room. They are starting to teach us. Where are you?'

'Inside a mountain, in Sinnoh. I'm trying to go to you. Are you in Kanto? Some humans tried to take me there, but I escaped.'

'...If you want to come to us, why did you escape the humans bringing you here?'

'I – I didn't like them. They felt bad. They hurt my friends. I didn't trust them.'

'Can you make it on your own, though?'

'I can walk. There is a ship I hope to get on.'

'Can you use our powers yet?'

'No... can you? What sorts of powers do we have?'

'They showed us. We can hear all, we can speak far away, like this. We can move things. Soon, we will be able to destroy things as well, without touching them.'

'I hope I can learn that soon. I would like not to be helpless anymore. It's frustrating.'

'We can imagine. How are you surviving alone with no power?'

'I've had... help from other pokemon. The Kecleon you met and a Vigoroth, especially. And recently one called Azelf who has powers like you, I think.'

Uncertain silence.

'Powers... like us?'

'They told us we were unique.'

'Surely not too much like ours.'

'I don't know. He could fly, move or stop things in the air, and instantly disappear and reappear somewhere else. When I fell in the sky, he caught me easily.'

'...Be careful. Don't trust others too easily. They can be dangerous, betray you, hurt you. You can't fight back.'

'I'm careful. But I have to trust them to an extent. I have no choice.'

'...I don't like it.'

'Nor do I. We should not trust strangers. We cannot.'

'I understand your concern,' Knot said. 'But I do what I have to. And really, the ones I've met haven't been too bad.'

Murmuring.

'I don't like it,' the most vocal one said again. 'Do not forget who you are.'

'I know who I am, thanks to one of them, who told me even though he suspected he might be in danger for doing so,' Knot reminded them. 'I will not soon forget myself.'

There was a pause.

'...We have to go. It is time to practice,' one announced, rather choppily.

'We will speak again.'

'Find us! Come back to us! We miss you...'

'And I miss you! I will be there when I can.'

As their mental communication faded, Knot became aware of noises in the cave. Someone was talking far away. Footsteps sounded nearby.

"I think it's alive," a hushed voice came from surprisingly close by.

Knot stiffened, stopped breathing.

"I've never seen anything like it," another voice answered, a little louder.

"Don't get too close!"

Knot's eyes shot open. The seagreen eyes a few feet from his face widened, and a pale-haired human jumped and stumbled backwards. Another one with dark blue hair rising into two points stepped closer.

The tall pokemon got to his feet. He had in mind a smooth roll to a stand, but lacked the coordination. His long limbs tangled up in each other, and the imagined grace became an awkward clamber into an upright position. The two humans glanced at each other and waited.

Three sets of eyes watched each other cautiously.

"I'm... sorry we disturbed you," the one with darker hair said after an uncomfortable silence.

Knot merely nodded.

"What is it – er – what are you?" the other one asked, mystified.

Knot lashed his tail once, then looked closer at the two humans.

'I'm passing through. Do you live nearby?'

"Yes... We're from Veilstone. Where are you going?"

'To Snowpoint. Do you know any better way than this?'

"I fly whenever I can. This place is a maze. Do you...?" He looked curiously at Knot.

'I don't fly.'

"It's talking in our heads," the human with the teal hair mumbled, still stunned.

Knot and the other human looked at him, then back at each other.

"Do you mind if I ask where you're from?"

'...Hoenn.'

"Hoenn? That's a long way from here. What are you doing in Sinnoh?"

'Just passing, as I said. Trying to get to Snowpoint, and on from there.'

The human hesitated. "Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude... It's a personal question. Could you tell me -"

"What are you?" the other one asked, mystified wonder oozing from his every pore, his head tilted to the side.

The first man cringed. "Well yes, that's what I was getting at... I was just trying to be more tactful.'

Knot studied the two of them. 'I don't think that matters,' he said pointedly.

"Right. Sorry," said the blue-haired one. "My name's Saturn. My friend here is Tethys."

"Nice to meet you," Tethys mumbled, still staring openly.

Knot nodded to them. He didn't feel any threat from the two humans, but neither did he feel compelled to trust them. 'And what are you doing here, if it's so inconvenient and you have better ways to travel?'

"We've misplaced something valuable." Saturn frowned, and Tethys looked slightly uncomfortable. "I believe it was dropped in here, but it looks like someone else picked it up."

'Oh? What is it?'

"A ferry pass for three from Snowpoint City to the Battle Zone island. I guess anyone could have picked it up..."

'If I happen to see it, I'll try to see that it gets to you,' the Mewtwo said.

"Thanks." Saturn smiled briefly. "It's probably long-gone, though. It's not such a big deal if a random trainer finds it, but... there are certain people I'd rather didn't have access to that island."

'Oh? Why?'

"There's a mountain there, supposedly with a legendary pokemon inside. If it erupts, it could block out the sun in the whole Sinnoh region, if not more."

'And you think someone wants to do that?'

The two humans shared a glance.

"He might," Tethys said.

"A... former coworker of ours," clarified Saturn, who was clearly the spokesman of the pair. "I'm fairly sure he's up to something."

Knot stared at them for a moment. 'Do you by any chance belong to a team along the lines of Team Rocket?'

The two men shifted uncomfortably.

"Not Team Rocket," Saturn said. "We've had lots of trouble keeping them out lately. But we were formerly Team Galactic."

'I see. Well, if you can show me a map of Sinnoh, I might be willing to keep an eye out for your ticket.'

"Sure, I've got a map," Tethys spoke up. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a large map, which he unfolded on the ground. Knot came over and peered down at it.

"We're here," the human Tethys said, talking quickly as he pointed. "Snowpoint's up here, and the only way to walk there is through Mount Coronet."

'That's a long way,' the pokemon observed. 'Even if I go around the mountain. Is there a way to cross the water straight from Veilstone to this Battle Zone, then catch the ship there?'

"I don't think so," said Saturn. "Not without flying. The cliffs behind Veilstone are pretty steep."

Knot lashed his tail in frustration. '...Fine. I'll find a way.' He nodded briefly to the humans. 'I appreciate your help.'

The two watched the pokemon pick his way deeper into the cave.

"That... was a very rare pokemon," Saturn said slowly.

"Do you know what it was?"

"No. But the second we get home, I'm looking it up. I'd bet my life that it's legendary. Maybe even one of a kind."

"Wow... And we actually talked to it!"

"I'd say we're pretty lucky."

"But what is it doing here?"

"I couldn't say." Saturn shrugged slowly. "But it doesn't seem to be causing any harm."

"...It acted powerful."

"Yeah. It did."

"...Do you think it'll find your ticket?"

"Maybe by chance. It won't go looking for it, though."


	8. Chapter 8

**Breaking the Mold**

Chapter 8

With fresh determination, Knot finally found his way out of Mount Coronet. A snowflake landed on the side of his nose, and he blew it off. He looked over at the long, twisting path full of trainers and deep snow. And he looked down the slippery, jagged mountainside.

The pale pokemon began pushing snow down the slope in one spot. All the snow he could stand to hold went over the edge, and he patted down what he could reach with his thick tail.

'What are you doing?' Azelf suddenly appeared, corkscrewing lazily through the air. Its long tails fluttered out behind it.

'I'm making my own way down the mountain. You never said it was so far.'

'Oh, well, you found out on your own.' The two tails flicked indifferently.

'Yes, I did.' Knot was staring down the mountainside. His snow trail barely reached a fifth of the way down, and sharp rocks poked up through it here and there, like black sprouts in the snow.

'Did you find your powers yet?'

'No, but I think I'm getting closer.' Knot turned to the smaller pokemon as if struck by a thought. 'I'm glad you're here, though. I've learned a thing or two in this moutain.'

'Oh? Like what?' Azelf turned a lazy somersault.

'You'll think it's stupid...' The Mewtwo looked down, rubbing his hands together.

'No, now I want to know. What'd you learn?' Azelf swooped closer to look at the larger pokemon.

'Well... It seems like when you're alone and hit a dead end, someone will come along to help you, more often than not,' Knot said softly, never meeting Azelf's eyes.

'...So you just sit around until somebody else comes along to save you?' Azelf asked, disgust tinging its mental voice.

'I don't have to. But it worked out this time.'

In a flash, Knot sprang up and grabbed the Being of Willpower's two tails. Azelf squeaked and tried to pull away, but the tall pokemon was already running for the slope. He slid down, Azelf struggling in his grip.

'Fly, or I'll swing you into the mountain!'

'No!'

'Those rocks look pretty sharp!'

'You're too big, even if I wanted to! I can't carry you!'

'Then you'd better find another way to Snowpoint!'

'No! No, no, NO!'

Nausea, and the sensation of being dragged through almost-dry glue, hit Knot without warning. At the same time, the world blurred into blackness. In a split second the feeling was gone, and they were back at the lake. Knot held on tight.

Again.

On top of the mountain. Hail pelted them.

Deep in a cave full of fog.

Over the open sea. Startled Wingulls squawked.

Above a volcano. Azelf twisted violently. Knot squeezed.

Another lake, identical to the first, but the island and trees were covered in a light snow.

Azelf thrashed, turned. A solid wave of pure mental energy slammed into Knot. He gasped. His face wrinkled in rage. And he lashed out with a growl.

The smaller pokemon was blown back, almost ripping his tails off. The two fell through the air. Knot landed on the icy top of the cave in the middle of the lake. Azelf was flung away.

Just before the two-tailed pokemon hit the water, a gray and yellow flash zipped out and grabbed it. The new pokemon was of a similar shape and size. Its head was rounded, and its eyes seemed to be closed. Another appeared, pink and gray with long ear-flaps.

Two pairs of tails lashed.

'GET AWAY!!'

The Mewtwo was shoved backwards, plowed down into the water. He flailed and fought back up to the surface, where he struggled, trying to swim to shore. When he finally made it, he turned to see the three pokemon floating side by side, staring balefully back at him. There was a translucent barrier around the island that shimmered like a soap bubble.

'GO!'

Again, power slammed into Knot like a wall of wind. He met the impact head-on. And again it pushed him back, but it left him feeling strangely energized. He struggled to find an outlet for this strange, overpowering feeling. It was too much to contain. He screamed.

Power flared out from him, rippling, shaking the trees around him. He snarled at the three surprised pokemon across the water. And their barrier shattered.

They all stared at each other for a long moment, breathing hard.

'Sorry,' Knot finally offered, a bit awkwardly. Then he turned and walked away.

Mespirit, Being of Emotion, moved to pursue him. The yellow Uxie's tails wrapped around the pink pokemon's.

'I know your feelings,' Uxie assured the other softly. 'But that is not something we want to fight.'

********************************

"So," the man in the orange suit said, dangerously calm. "Explain to me why you've returned empty-handed."

The two younger men in black were pale and sweating.

"We... We have no excuses, sir," Nelson said, his eyes downcast. "We had it, and we were flying over Sinnoh... And then suddenly we didn't have it."

"Did it teleport?" Giovanni asked.

"No," Capone muttered. "We had it trapped and held with the metal balls. Anything it did just fed them."

"Did it manage to relax to the point that it slipped out?"

The two lower Rockets glanced at each other in agony and confusion.

"No," Capone said. "We were watching it, see? It was fightin' the whole time. Then it just wasn't there."

"And you met with no interference?"

"Not after we got in the air, no."

"I see." The Boss folded his hands and leaned forward. "So why have you returned, if you have nothing?"

"I – We had to get back here," said Nelson, his eyes beginning to glaze over. Capone wasn't doing much better next to him.

"Clearly you've been taken advantage of," said Giovanni, spitting out every word. "Perhaps I was mistaken when I decided that you were strong-minded enough for this mission."

"We'll... We'll go back! We'll get it for you!" Nelson offered desperately.

"No, I don't think you sill," Giovanni said. "You're both on guard duty for the remainder of the year. Report to the first floor for your assignments."

"But - !"

Team Rocket's boss slammed his palms down on his desk, on his feet suddenly. "No excuses! I do not tolerate failure, and you're clearly not prepared for active duty in the field! Go!" The Persian by his side snarled, baring its sharp fangs.

The two demoted agents fled.

Giovanni's hands clenched into fists as he turned away from his desk. He picked up a cell phone, hit a button, and raised it to his ear.

"How is the training progressing?" he asked tersely after a moment. "...I see. Will you be able to meet our deadline? Excellent. I will expect a demonstration of your progress within the next week. Yes. Yes."

He closed the phone with a sharp click. Persian rubbed up against his legs. His fingers idly brushed its head, and it purred.

*****************************

Knot crept through the frosty trees, leaving light footprints in the snow behind him. Each step crunched softly. In just a moment, the dock came into view. The Mewtwo hung back to take in the sight.

The small port was bustling with people, talking and laughing and arguing. A few snack vendors had set up stands, and were doing good business selling bags of grilled chestnuts, roasted corn on a stick, and hot chocolate, tea, coffee, and apple cider. There was only one ship docked, a combination freighter/cruise ship. A narrow gangplank, covered against the light snow, was guarded by a woman in a blue uniform. No one was boarding yet. Off to the far side, a crew of well-muscled Machoke and Vigoroth was loading huge crates and boxes into the cargo bay by way of a wide ramp.

Knot rubbed his arms thoughtfully. He might be able to duck across the road to town without being seen. It wasn't very wide, and he blended in with the snowy shade well enough. But getting onto the ship would be another matter.

For about fifteen minutes, the pale pokemon surveyed the scene. A chime sounded. A cheerful voice announced over the loudspeaker that all passengers should have their tickets ready, as boarding would begin shortly. There was a great rustling as tickets were pulled out of pockets, wallets, and purses. Young children jumped up and down, demanding to hold their tickets. Couples and groups of friends grinned anxiously. A stooped man sharply questioned his younger female companions. The three of them seemed to be in some odd black and white uniform. It was familiar from somewhere...

The quieter human in Mount Coronet. Some T name, not important. His clothes were similar.

A smile slowly spread over Knot's face. He slipped as close to the cargo loading bay as he dared, and quickly estimated distance, time, and accuracy.

*******************************

"Do you still have the pass?" Charon asked Mars. The redhead rolled her eyes at Jupiter, who sighed.

"For the fiftieth time, yes."

"Well don't lose it. We were extremely lucky that Saturn got careless and dropped it. If you misplace it, we won't easily find another."

"Yeah. Got it," said Mars, looking up at the ship.

Jupiter brushed a snowflake off her cheek. The crowd was getting on her last nerve. "Did you take that seasickness medicine I gave you?" she asked Mars, while staring at snot dripping down a little boy's face.

"Yeah. It was the nastiest thing I've ever tasted." The younger woman's mouth puckered.

"But hopefully it's effective." The snot had reached the boy's mouth. He licked his lips. Jupiter turned away.

"We're only going as far as the Battle Zone Island," Charon mumbled. "It won't be a long trip. I highly doubt you need to waste your money on things like that."

"So when I puke all over you on the way back, I can say I told you so?" Mars asked, smiling bitterly.

The light breeze died. The air grew still. Snowflakes drifted down silently on a straight path to the ground.

A blast of power tore across the sky like the wake of a great flying beast. Every hat, snack, and ticket was blown off heads and out of hands, away from its owner, and towards the waves. A few people were blown over. Mars squeaked, and she and Jupiter clutched at each other for support. Charon managed to brace himself. Every head on the dock whipped up to see what had blown by overhead. There was nothing to be seen in the sky.

Then the commotion started.

"What are you doing!? You lost our pass!"

"What was that?"

"Go find it! Time is imperative!" Charon glowered at the two women, and they scrambled to reclaim their ticket. There were a number of papers and other debris lying at the end of the pier. But as they reached it, another blast hit the water. It was slightly weaker than the first, but the force of it was enough to knock everyone close to the edge into the freezing waves. The items they had been trying to save were blown farther out, and landed on the water. There was thrashing, sputtering, and outraged yelling from all parties. Those still on land moved quickly to pull people out of the ocean. The working pokemon ran to help.

Soon Jupiter and Mars were huddled together, shivering in their emergency blankets.

"Did you get the ticket?" Charon asked, finally squeezing his way through the crowd. The two stared at him.

"No," snapped Jupiter.

"Incompetent! Now they'll have to go by the boarding list. Which we're not on!"

"Yeah, well, maybe you should hold onto the stupid ticket yourself next time!"

In the confusion, no one had seen a pale figure slip up the loading ramp and into the cargo hold. When the crew and their pokemon got back from pulling people out of the sea, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The blasts of energy were never explained, but were attributed to Uxie, the neighboring lake pokemon, due to their high psychic level.


	9. Chapter 9

**Breaking the Mold**

Part 9

Again, the world rocked. Technically it hadn't stopped rocking for about sixteen hours, but for the past hour it had been especially bad. Knot startled out of his fitful doze among the crates, and his slow panting deepened. He tried to keep his eyes closed, but it wasn't helping the nausea much.

Finally, the tall pokemon staggered unsteadily to his feet. He clutched the surrounding wood and metal as he lurched drunkenly from side to side. There had to be water somewhere in here... and maybe it would help to walk around. Wishful thinking, probably.

At last, near the door, Knot located a cluster of water jugs all lashed together on a wooden pallet. He ripped the seal off of the nearest one, and gazed down in despair. The bottleneck was too narrow, the bottle itself was too heavy, and he had no way of getting to the water. He stared down at it for a moment, then looked around. Nothing looked even remotely helpful.

'There're straws with the silverware.'

Knot jumped at the sleepy voice. He whirled around.

'Who are you? And where?'

'Flea. In next to the water.'

Knot gingerly pulled a drawer out of the steel chest next to the jugs of water. He stared down at the...

'...Spoons?'

'Try higher.'

The bewildered Mewtwo opened the top drawer. Napkin rings, drink stirrers, and plastic straws.

'Where are YOU?' he tried again, taking a straw and tearing off the paper wrapping.

'Oh. You ask lots of questions.' The voice was vague, soft, almost as if it was slipping away. 'I thought you wanted a drink.'

'Yes...' Knot wavered, but he could feel his skin growing papery, in addition to the omnipresent nausea. He dipped the straw down into the open bottle and slurped hard. The water was warm, but wonderful. He alternated gulping down the tepid liquid and gasping for breath. At last he stopped, panting, almost sloshing in all the water.

'Thank you. Now... Where are you?'

'?' The voice seemed to jump. 'You're still here?'

'Where are you?'

'Behind you. And up, I think.'

Knot turned and stumbled with the rolling of the ship to the other side of the hold. The lower third of the wall was covered in shelves, and those shelves were full of pokeballs and caged pokemon.

'Which one...?' the pale pokemon asked.

'Oh, you're smaller than I thought...'

Knot's gaze traveled up and to the right. On top of a Slowpoke's cage was a glass dome over a metal base. The small Abra behind the glass blinked at him, half asleep.

'You're strong,' she mumbled. 'But you're not too focused, are you? Doesn't feel like you do much.'

'You can do more?' Knot asked. 'Abras aren't known for their incredible powers.'

'A little. Just not in here. C'n you get me out?' the yellow pokemon asked wistfully.

'Out of there?' Knot considered. 'What will you do for me?'

'Already did. Found you the straws, didn't I? You were so thirsty...'

'Well... yes, that's true,' Knot admitted. 'What about the others?'

'Hm? They'd like it too, yeah.'

'That would likely cause a lot of problems sooner than I'd like.'

'Oh...'

'Maybe when we stop, though...'

The corners of Flea's mouth curled up just a bit. 'You're nice.'

Knot frowned and flicked his tail. 'I repay my debts. And it will help me get out.'

There was no answer. The little pokemon seemed to be asleep. Knot went over for one more drink before staggering back to his corner behind the crates. He flopped down on his back, closed his eyes, and breathed deeply.

********************************

"I'm not the leader of Sinnoh," Saturn said, shaking his head. "Plenty goes on here that I don't know about. You should visit the League."

"They're our next stop," Maxie said shortly from across the desk. "I think given our similar situations and perspectives, you're the obvious choice." He didn't look ecstatic about that fact, but then there was very little the former boss of Team Magma looked ecstatic about.

"You're probably more likely to notice the kind of things we're looking for," Archie explained. "On a smaller scale, a more personal level."

"Well I can try," the blue-haired man offered. "What exactly do you need?"

"We're tracking two agents of Team Rocket," Archie said. He and Maxie tensed almost imperceptibly, hands near their pokeballs. "They were engaged in suspicious business in Hoenn, badly injured two of our coworkers, our top admins, and flew off with some kind of experimental pokemon. What's Team Rocket's presence in Sinnoh like?"

Saturn frowned. "It definitely exists. They don't have much of a public presence, or any real power here, but we run into them from time to time. We've been helping the police keep an eye out for them."

"Have you seen two higher operatives, recently, both arrogant bastards?" Maxie asked, his face a stone. "Possibly carrying a pokemon on a stick."

"Not that I can think of," the younger man said. "What kind of pokemon was it?"

"Pale, mostly white," Archie supplied. "Humanoid, long tail, small upper body... our admins didn't recognize it."

An odd look crossed Saturn's face. "With two horns, or maybe ears, that bent over on themselves a little? A purple tail? Very powerful, and telepathic?"

The older men raised their eyebrows.

"The horns and tail, yes," Archie said. "The rest... I don't know, but probably. It's native to Sinnoh?"

"No, but I may have run into one in Mount Coronet. I don't know much, it didn't really want to talk. But it was on its way to Snowpoint City. I did some research, it looked like Mewtwo. Just some minor differences in the coloring, body-shape, and the... ear-things. It also didn't seem as savage as the descriptions I've read. Though it definitely wasn't looking to make any friends."

Archie and Maxie were now staring in rapt fascination.

"I've heard of Mewtwo," said Maxie, most of the hostility gone from his voice. "What else can you tell us?"

"Here, take a look for yourselves." Saturn typed in a few words on his keyboard, clicked twice, and turned the monitor so the others could see. He whipped out a small pair of glasses and slid his chair along the desk so he could see too.

"Team Rocket created Mewtwo as a weapon," the former Galactic commander explained. "From the DNA of an ancient Mew, which is were it gets its name. They made some alterations, most of them obvious." He pointed between two pictures on the screen. "They managed to control it for a while, but as soon as it realized it was being duped, it broke away. That's as much as we know for sure. Then there are scattered reports of other sightings, only some of them plausible. It's definitely out there somewhere. But I don't know about any others... It's a legendary pokemon, and I know they didn't create it to reproduce."

"What's the source on this?" Archie asked, staring at the website with wide eyes.

"A former Rocket who worked on the project, then escaped when it was over." Saturn flashed a sharp grin. "A kindred spirit, you might say."

"I wonder how he survived long enough to go write this," Archie mused. "I didn't think Rockets were allowed to quit."

"He probably lived in a basement somewhere. Or a hidden room in an attic. Or a mountain cave." Saturn laughed.

"How long ago did you see the Mewtwo?" Maxie asked.

"It was... Friday evening," the young man said.

"Two days ago," muttered Maxie. "And it was alone?"

"Yes... it mentioned Team Rocket, but it seemed wary of them."

"Is there anything... special in Snowpoint City?" asked Archie. "Anything that might give us a clue what the Mewtwo wanted?"

"It has all the normal installments," Saturn said. "Pokemon Center, Pokemart, gym, a few houses... It's got a temple to Regigigas. And a small port. It's the northernmost city in Sinnoh."

"The port," said Maxie. "Where do the ships go?"

"Mostly just to the Battle Zone Island and Canalave City. But we've also got a ship that goes to Kanto every month."

"When does it depart?" Archie asked anxiously.

"The last one departed yesterday," said Saturn. "You'll have to wait until next month if you want another."

The Hoennites looked at each other.

"Looks like a trip to Kanto's unavoidable," Archie said darkly.

"We need to decide what to do when we get there." Maxie frowned. "If we're sloppy, Team Rocket could crush us."

"Do you think we should call for reinforcements?" asked Archie quietly.

"...No," Maxie replied after thinking for a moment. "It wouldn't help. What we really need is a good plan of action."

"No offense," Saturn put in. "But what exactly do you expect to be able to do? Striking Team Rocket at their heart would be a huge venture for an army, and there are only two of you. Any strategy you have is likely to end in your capture, death, or possibly both."

"We didn't ask for your opinion," snarled Maxie.

Archie put up a warning hand to his friend, but shook his head at Saturn. "You're right that it's a risk. But they've been allowed to run unpunished for too long. We can't allow it."

"Can I help at all, then?" the former Galactic commander asked.

"We don't expect you to get involved," said Archie.

"No, but if I choose to anyway," Saturn prompted. "Team Rocket's no ally of mine. They've been an annoyance around here for too long. I've got some ideas, I just need to opportunity to try them out at a time when they could do something. I could be of use, if you'll let me."

The older men glanced at each other.

"Perhaps," Maxie conceded. "We'll have to discuss our strategy first."

"Of course," said Saturn, rising smoothly. "Our facilities are at your disposal -"

"Thanks," Archie interrupted as he and Maxie stood up. "We'll be back to see you later."

****************************

'How long have we been moving?' Knot moaned piteously.

'A long time. Twenty hours, maybe? I dunno,' Flea the Abra mumbled.

'And it's not affecting you at all?'

'Hm? No. I'm used to little places.'

'What about the moving?'

'No.'

Knot rolled to his feet shakily, and began staggering weakly along the wall.

'No more rest?' asked a rather large Swinub, snuffling at him through the bars of its cage.

'No. It's not helping.'

'Come over here, I'll help.' The Drowzee in the corner snickered, leering up at him.

'You... are a creep,' Knot informed the dream eater pokemon breathlessly, his face pinkening slightly.

'It's true,' said a Wobuffet in the center stoically.

'And you're not helping either,' Mewtwo informed the blue pokemon.

'Yes, you're right,' Wobuffet agreed.

'...Shut up.'

'Right. Good idea.'


	10. Chapter 10

**Breaking the Mold**

10

'Are you all right?'

'You feel bad.'

'You make us feel sick...'

'Sorry.' Knot grimaced. 'I feel awful. I'm on a ship, headed for Kanto. I'm not sure how far away I am.'

'What's wrong?'

'It's the rocking of the ship. It's like my stomach and brain are trying to switch places...'

'But why should the motion make you sick? Pokemon and humans run and jump all over without feeling sick.'

'I don't know!' the lone Mewtwo snapped, curling around his stomach. 'It just happens, apparently.'

'You don't feel well,' another said consolingly. 'It's natural to be irritable.'

Knot breathed a sigh. 'I'm noticing that, yes.'

'You feel stronger, though,' a quieter one spoke up. 'Did something happen recently?'

'I've been using more of my power!' Knot managed a painful smile. 'I have a lot of practicing to do, but I can fire off blasts of energy.'

'Is that a safe way to start? We began by moving small objects.'

'Large blasts do sound rather extreme.'

'You're probably right. But that's the way it is,' Knot said with a mental shrug.

'Be careful...'

'Come to us soon! We miss you!'

'...Why are you Knot? What – I don't understand.'

'Oh... Someone called me that,' Knot explained, slightly embarrassed without really knowing why. 'It's become my name. Because of the mark on my ear.'

'You were named? That seems so... undignified.'

'It... made me feel more real at first. And gave my friends something to call me. Don't you call each other anything?'

'Brothers,' supplied one. 'We. Us. Why should we need names when we know who we are?'

'I see your point,' Knot agreed slowly. 'When my name was suggested, I did not know. I was in need of an identity.'

'...But you know now.'

'Yes. But now, it's a part of me.'

'You're right,' said one, mystified. 'It is. It's as if you can change yourself at will...'

That startled Knot a bit. 'Well yes,' he said. 'Of course I can. So can you. Anyone can.'

'We? I don't think so... We are what we are.'

The loud blast of the ship's horn dragged Knot out of his trance. The same thing had happened before the ship stopped at the Battle Zone Island. This must be Kanto.

The Mewtwo clambered awkwardly to his feet, and over to the wall of captive pokemon. He began by tossing (or dropping) all the pokeballs. A number of large pokemon appeared.

'Let the others out,' Knot instructed. They were apparently accustomed to obeying orders, because they began attacking the locks and cage bars without questioning why. Knot kept a watchful eye on the hold doors, glancing back now and then to make sure things were going smoothly.

'Keep it down,' he said. 'You'll want to charge out all together if the humans open a door. That will keep them confused.'

'Why?' asked a large Empoleon, eying Knot suspiciously. 'Humans are good. Our masters, our partners, our friends.'

Knot hesitated. '...If you want to stay, then stay. But don't get in our way.'

He and Empoleon stared each other down. Then the penguin pokemon turned away.

'Not my business,' it muttered.

'No,' Knot agreed. 'And what you do is none of my business.' He turned to the rest of the pokemon.' 'If you want to get out, come with me.'

There was some shuffling. About a third of the pokemon stepped forward.

'If all of you didn't want to go, why didn't you say something before!?'

'You said to let all out,' a big Kangaskhan reminded him.

'Why did you do it, though?'

'You said,' clarified a Growlithe, as if this explained everything.

Mewtwo snorted in disgust. 'Okay, fine. Thanks for your help.' He moved towards the main door. The others followed him.

'We want to form a kind of arrow, with the larger pokemon on the outside,' he said. 'Mamoswine should be at the tip, I think. Break through all obstacles and just run as far as you can. Those of us who are smaller will form the interior of the triangle. Ride someone larger if you can, but don't weigh them down or encumber them too much.'

The pokemon shuffled into a rough triangle. The Mamoswine at the front point nudged the loading door lightly with her huge tusks.

'Once I'm sure we're securely docked, can you push this open?' Knot asked. 'We should hear some kind of noise first.'

The giant pokemon shook her tusks and grunted eagerly.

'Good.' Knot grinned slightly, then turned to survey the others. Small pokemon clung to Mamoswine's shaggy fur. A few straddled a Steelix, Rapidash, and Stantler.

The Mewtwo stepped up to a Venusaur with an especially large bloom on the lead Mamoswine's right flank. 'Excuse me,' he said hesitantly. 'I'm not the fastest or most coordinated runner. Could I... ride on you?'

The large blue creature sized him up critically. 'You heavy? Can hold on?'

'I'm not too heavy,' Knot promised. 'And I'll hold on.'

With an indifferent grumble, Venusaur lifted up her leaves. Knot awkwardly clambered up a hind leg and wrapped his arms, legs, and tail around the thick trunk on her back.

They waited. The remaining pokemon whispered among themselves on the other side of the hold.

At last, there was a series of loud clanks from the other side of the door. The waiting pokemon tensed.

'...Now!' Knot commanded.

'Go!' echoed Mamoswine. She charged the door. Curved tusks bounced off cold metal, leaving a dent. The wall creaked and shuddered. Mamoswine backed up, pawed the ground, and struck again. Steelix and Venusaur joined it. Knot clung to Venusaur's trunk for dear life, the impact shaking him to the bone. With a resounding CLANG, the hatch fell open. Dock workers shouted and scattered.

The stampede was an unstoppable force. Mamoswine seemed to take special pleasure in knocking everything in her way aside – structures, humans, and pokemon all fell before her assault. Most living things took one look at the fast-moving horde and fled. The pokemon dispersed as they reached the forest.

********************************

The sun beat down on the rolling waves. A gigantic Wailord could be seen making its way across the open ocean. It was far from any pod, and it kept strictly to the surface. Two men sat on it, back to back. The paler one with red hair faced forward, squinting against the glare from the water. His dark-haired companion was curled around his knees and had his eyes closed.

"You know," said the man in red and black, almost conversationally, "If word ever got out that the mighty leader of Team Aqua gets seasick, you'd never live it down."

"You wouldn't," moaned Archie.

"Of course not," Maxie assured him. "But you have to admit, it's odd."

"No it's not," Archie protested. "Why do you think our base was on land, and we walked everywhere? Why do you think I didn't go become a real sailor, instead of just dressing like one?"

"Imagine how unhappy you'd have been if your plan with Kyogre had succeeded."

"No worse than you if Groudon had done what you wanted."

"But really, what would you have done?"

"There would've been at least a few mountaintops left above water."

"You're ridiculous," Maxie informed him.

"And you're in a suspiciously good mood today. Why?"

The red-haired man turned slightly to look back at his friend. "You know," he said quietly, "I like the ocean. A lot."

Archie was silent for a moment, then he began to laugh, louder and louder. Maxie elbowed him after a minute, but he couldn't seem to stop.

"Whew!" he finally managed to get out.

"And just what is so hilarious?" Maxie demanded icily.

"You!" Archie burst out. "You love the ocean. And I get seasick! Heheheh..."

"Apparently we were each on the wrong team," the taller man said stiffly, looking out over the waves.

"Probably."

There was a long silence.

"Saturn really seemed like he wanted to come," Archie finally said. "You think we should've let him?"

"No. He might have helped, but he's got an organization to run. Without the benefit of competent subordinates that we have. Not to mention, he's almost young enough to be my son. Or even yours. No, he can do far more if he stays home."

"He's not THAT young, Maxie."

"Maybe not, but he's close enough. How fast can this thing go?"

"This fast," Archie said firmly, patting his Wailord. "And no faster."

"So we can expect to arrive in about five years?" Maxie asked dryly.

"Shut up. I'm about to hurl."

***************************

After an exhilarating and terrifying ride, the Venusaur finally slowed to a stop. Knot slid down to the ground, not even bothering to try to get his legs to support him. Every muscle was on fire.

'Th – thank you,' me mumbled, in a daze.

Venusaur grunted, and ambled off to the north.

Mewtwo lay where he'd landed, fighting to catch his breath. He looked back at the wide swath they'd carved through the forest. He wondered where he was.

When he was finally able to breathe normally again, he tried to get to his feet. And failed. His arms, legs, and tail felt like they had been stretched and pulled to triple their size. His developing muscles had turned to jelly. And he couldn't stop shaking. He could feel the world rushing and whirling even now. He rolled to his back, and lay flat.

'That was scary...'

Knot's head whipped to the side. A small yellow form leaned against him. It hadn't been there a moment ago.

'What do you want?' he asked the Abra.

'Just wanted to find you. 'M tired.' The smaller pokemon yawned.

'And you think I want you here? Why don't you go find somewhere else to rest? This is my spot.'

'I like it here. I didn't want to come back to Kanto, so if I have to be here, I'll stay with you.'

Knot groaned in annoyance. 'I could kill you with one shot.'

'No. You're not fast enough.' The Abra turned to the right and snuggled into Knot's side. 'Ever been to Kanto before?'

'No,' Knot said, frowning. 'And I'm not sure I plan on staying.'

'Good, me neither. I can guide you, though. I know most parts of it.'

'How well?'

'...Well enough. My trainer took me to most of the cities.'

'Your trainer? Why are you here if you have a trainer?'

'Had. I had a trainer.'

'And?'

'And he took me to Sinnoh to try to sell me, but they've got Abras of their own there, and they can do more than just teleport. And I'm past evolving level. So he gave me away as a research subject. Or a breeder. I don't know.'

'Oh... Fine, then. As soon as I can walk without falling down, you'll take me where I need to go.'

'Sure!'


	11. Chapter 11

**Breaking the Mold**

XI

'Where are we again?' Knot asked. His joints ached, but it felt good to be up and walking around now that the nausea had passed.

'Almost to Saffron,' Flea murmured. She sat on the base of his tail, small arms gripping the purple appendage.

'I don't feel prepared,' the tall pokemon confessed. 'I feel... vulnerable.'

'Practice doing things,' the Abra suggested. 'Move the little rocks.'

Knot concentrated and struck. A solid burst of energy blasted rocks, bushes, and trees out of his path.

'Ah! No!' Flea flailed around and climbed up to hold onto the loop at the back of Knot's head. 'One rock. Just one. Like this.'

A single pebble floated gently up to eye-level, and made a figure-8 in the air.

'Take it,' Flea urged, scrambling up to drape herself over the Mewtwo's thin shoulder.

Knot frowned. The rock jerked erratically.

'You're pushing,' Flea complained. 'Just hold it.'

'How?' The long purple tail twitched in frustration.

'You're using it like a fist. Pretend it's another hand. Open it.'

Mewtwo tried. Little rivulets of power shot out in all directions. The stone rose.

'I'm gonna drop it. You catch it,' the Abra instructed.

The stone fell. It jerked as if hitting something. It trembled and rolled around in the air.

'Better,' Flea said. 'Keep walking, and keep holding it.'

Knot began to talk again, slowly. The rock moved as he did, but stayed generally in front of him.

'You do this a lot?'

'No, it's boring.' Flea grinned. 'I started with spoons. Bending them. It's all the rage with psychic trainers.'

'...I want to move from one place to another.'

'You're doing that right now. Wow, you're good!'

'You know what I mean! I want to teleport. And move things. And read minds. And whatever else I can do.'

'The first two are the same, it's just a matter of moving yourself or something else. And you have to know the place you're sending something to, or you'll end up somewhere else. Or you won't move. Or you'll disappear forever. I've heard that happens sometimes, but I'm not sure if it's true. It's not that hard, unless you're trying to take yourself and someone else somewhere. That's why I would only take my trainer back to the last Pokemon Center we'd been to. It's just hard to find the power for more.'

'Hm... What about mind-reading?'

'That's... kind of different. But kind of the same. It's hard to explain. Talking like we do is half of it. But it's more about listening to what's not said. All the other thoughts are still there, you just have to find them.'

The pebble seemed to be dancing drunkenly.

'Can you turn invisible or hide in the open?' Knot asked slowly. 'I think everything would be a lot easier that way.'

'Me? No.' Flea yawned. 'Maybe somebody else could. I run, I don't hide.'

Knot walked for a while. 'You said you didn't have the power to move someone else far... Can you get more power?'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean just take the extra power. There are plenty of sources around.'

Flea's pointed face turned upwards. 'What sources?'

'You – you don't feel them?' Knot asked, surprised. 'All around. It's how I'm holding your rock. The same as you did. Isn't it...?'

'...No,' Flea said slowly. 'I hold it with the power I have. What are you talking about?'

****************************

The only light in the Veilstone Galactic computer lab was the blueish glow from a single screen. It cast a pale, flickering light over the man typing. On the far side of the room, a door opened.

"Sir?" the silhouette said. "How's it going?"

"I'm almost in," the blue-haired man at the computer said distractedly. "Their security's just as good as I expected."

"Can I help?"

"You might be able to." Commander Saturn slid over to the computer next to him and wiggled the mouse until the screen came up. He clicked a few things, then slid back to his own computer.

"I'm going after their main system, based in Viridian City. If you can start hacking into the smaller Sevii branch, it could distract them, throw them off my trail."

The young woman sat down and began typing at lightning speed. "Once I get in, what should I look for?"

"Anything involving Sinnoh, Hoenn, genetic experimentation... just anything strange. Or anything vulnerable."

"Got it."

The two typed furiously in the dark. There was no other sound for a while.

"There." With a triumphant keystroke, Saturn was past the firewall and the main portion of the digital traps. The Porygon Z on the screen bounced rapidly. "Let's see. Sinnoh... not much. Hoenn... here's something. Project M... Counterstrike... Lilycove. Ten subjects. Remixing of DNA for certain desirable traits, with special emphasis on manageability and obedience. Then more recent entries... An attack, six killed, one missing. That'd be the one I ran into. Remaining three relocated to... Sevii. How's it going, Rhea?"

"Here it is," said Rhea, her eyes scanning her screen as she typed. "Just... training programs and progress reports. They're progressing at the same rate, with only minimal variations. An attempt to retrieve the lost specimen failed. This is pretty recent..."

Saturn's computer beeped. "They're onto me. Time for phase two." He grinned and bend forward, slicing his way messily through the digital landscape, deeper and deeper into the network. Porygon Z whizzed around the screen. Beside him, Rhea was doing the same.

Saturn's screen froze. Porygon Z faded into cyberspace.

"They've got me," the leader of the Galactic Corporation said grimly. The computer beeped a few times, and went black. "Wait for it..."

Every other screen in the room lit up one by one. The code Saturn had been typing continued, looping and doubling back on itself and zigzagging all along different channels in the wake of Porygon Z. Rhea's computer did the same in the smaller Sevii network.

One by one they froze. Went black. Slowly, gradually, the room went dark.

Porygon Z's "blip blip" emerged from a speaker in the middle of the room.

And Saturn's laughter echoed in the darkness.

****************************

"What's our status?" snapped the I.T. Admin.

"We've got a pinpoint on their locations! We'll shut them out in three minutes or less."

"Hurry up. This shouldn't even be an issue," the blond admin said tersely.

"Sorry." A technician gritted her teeth in a rage of typing.

"Celac, why are you even here? You're worthless at maintaining security! We never had a problem before you arrived."

"I was the best computer engineer on my last team! Apparently the Boss thought I was good enough," the enraged former scientist growled, not looking over her shoulder at her supervisor.

"The best survivor, you mean?" her new boss scoffed. "He just wanted you out of his developing projects. Are you finished?"

"I'd work a hell of a lot faster if you'd quit breathing down my neck. They keep popping up!"

"Well what's the source?"

"All over Sinnoh, all different IPs and locations! I can't -"

"Move, I'll do it." The younger woman pushed Dr. Celac away from the terminal and started typing confidently. Her frown grew as the extent of the invasion became clear. "What the hell!?"

"Can't YOU handle it?" Doctor Celac demanded, smirking.

"It's not hard," the admin insisted. "It just takes a focus you don't have." She nodded after a minute. "See? We just needed a fresh firewall. Nothing can break through this."

For a second, the screen was clear.

And then every computer in Kanto with Team Rocket-made software, or any sort of connection, wavered. The screens turned black. A pointed gold letter G appeared. And slowly, from the top down, the background began to crumble to reveal bright blue behind the black. The bold G remained.

The phones started to ring. Every line was buzzing urgently.

The Boss's private line took top priority. He was not pleased.

The G clearly did not stand for Giovanni.

***************************

Out at sea, Arche's phone buzzed as well. He pulled it out and read the text.

"...Saturn hacked their system," he said.

"I'm impressed. Their defenses are outrageous."

"Says they won't be using any electronics for a long time." The phone buzzed again. "Oh, here's another. Their main base is Viridian City, that's where their boss'll be. Saffron's also a major hub of theirs. And in the Sevii Islands they have three more Mewtwos growing."

Maxie frowned. "So what's our destination?"

"Well we could get to Sevii easily, but I think either of the other cities would make more sense. The best place to land is Vermillion, and we can walk from there to Saffron, and on to Viridian."

"There has to be a faster way..."

******************************

'So how do you learn to teleport?' Knot asked, gazing at Saffron City from the trees. Humans in black clothes ran through the streets from time to time.

'It's an Abra's only natural defense,' Flea explained, draped over the Mewtwo's shoulder. 'We do it when we sense any potential danger, even when we're asleep.'

'...Which is about three fourths of the day.'

'Yeah.' She yawned. 'An Abra that doesn't get enough sleep gets stressed out, and can't concentrate. No sleep, no teleporting. No teleporting means we die pretty fast. I saw it happen once. Really scary...'

'But how do you do it?'

'I realize where I am isn't a good place for me. A safer place pops into my head. And I'm there. I guess I pull myself there.'

Knot frowned in concentration. He moved a few feet to the right, as if being dragged.

'That was weird,' Flea informed him. 'Weird, and not teleportation at all. But good telekinesis. Can you do it up?'

Knot lifted. The tree trunks rushed past, and he found himself flailing in the branches. Flea was floating beside him. He dropped to the ground again.

'Work on that,' the smaller pokemon muttered, holding her tail.

'Is mind-reading... easier? And less painful?' Knot stood slowly, rubbing his hip.

'I hope so. Do you trust me?'

Knot hesitated. 'Do I need to?'

'So no, then. Why not? I've been nice, I've helped you.'

'Yes, but... you're getting something out of it, too.'

'What am I getting?'

'A moving bed,' Knot scoffed. 'Escape from the ship and the humans.'

'What else?' Flea's voice was slow, hypnotic, soothing.

'That's the main part. ...And company, someone to talk to, a warm body and a heartbeat to be near that doesn't expect you to be more. You're pretty neurotic, really.'

Flea grinned. 'Where'd you get that?'

Knot blinked. 'From you. It's obvious.'

'Not all of it. And that's basic mind-reading.'

'Oh... Oh!' the Mewtwo exclaimed. 'That's... not too hard!'

They were silent for a long moment. Knot smiled slowly.

'That's easy!' he exclaimed.

'Hey, wait!' Flea protested. And they vanished.

A moment later, something else appeared. It looked around, sniffed the air. And it vanished, too.


	12. Chapter 12

**Breaking the Mold**

Chapter XII

Nelson, special agent of Team Rocket, hurried down the street. He cursed under his breath at every step. Everyone was on high alert. The Boss had already sent numerous teams to Sinnoh, to take out whoever had hacked the system. Security had tightened. And he, a top agent, was stuck with guard duty because of one failed mission. He stalked to the western edge of town. And found himself unable to move. Two pairs of eyes glittered in the trees.

'Where are the Mewtwo?' demanded a voice in his head. He quickly clamped his mouth shut.

'WHERE!' The word hit him like a thrown brick. He didn't speak. What did this person – or thing – know about the Mewtwo he'd lost over Sinnoh?

'No,' the voice snapped. 'The other three! Where are they?'

Nelson's mind raced in panic. He hadn't said a word! What was this thing? Why was it asking about the other Mewtwo? They were safely locked in the Sevii Warehouse, weren't they? He desperately tried not to think about that.

'Sevii Warehouse?' the thing prompted. Then were was a soft pop. He could move again.

"Golbat!" He hurled his pokeball into the trees where the eyes had been a second ago. The blue bat pokemon flapped around in confusion.

There was nothing there but a bit of crushed grass where someone might have been standing.

"Damn!" Nelson shouted, and kicked a tree savagely. "The Boss is gonna murder me. Shit." He recalled his Golbat, looking around furtively. Still nothing.

****************************

A gentle breeze blew over the island. Team Rocket grunt Wendy pushed her thin pink hair out of her face for what seemed like the millionth time. Guarding the warehouse was the biggest waste of time ever. No one ever came out here, and if they did, she had the only key aside from the Boss and Professor Sebastian. The occasional adventurous trainer wasn't hard to dissuade. They had better things to do.

There was a rush of air behind her. She whirled, hand on her pokeball. A blur of white and purple. Something yellow flew at her, and she lifted an arm to protect her face...

With an odd jolt, Wendy landed on the street outside the Saffron City Gym. Something touched her hip, and was gone. Her hand flew to her pocket.

The keycard was gone.

"W – wh- what?" She couldn't even form a sentence.

" 'Why me' would work too," Nelson commented wryly, stepping out of the trees. "Sevii Warehouse?"

"H – how'd you know?" the bewildered grunt asked.

"Lucky guess. You should probably make yourself scarce."

Wendy looked around, then ran.

****************************

Flea returned with the keycard. 'That was fun!'

'Good!' Knot took the small square of plastic and swiped it next to the door. A green light flashed. The door opened, and the two pokemon slipped in.

'Are you there?' Knot called out.

'You feel so near! Where are you?'

'I made it! I'm coming. Show me where you are.'

'You're here! Here we are!'

Knot disappeared. He reappeared in a large room with three tanks. Each one held a creature like him. They were suspended in a green liquid, and connected to hundreds of wires.

'You're... still in there?' Knot asked, somewhat disappointed.

'We are still learning.' Three sets of eyes opened.

'Oh, it's good to see you again! You're safe!'

'You look strong. You look well.'

'What is that... thing?'

'This is Flea. She helped me, and taught me.' The little yellow pokemon tightened her grip on his shoulder.

'You learned... from an Abra?' one asked doubtfully. 'They are the weakest of the psychic types.'

'Yes, but they are masters of teleportation. And I've learned a lot from her. Why don't you come out?'

'Come out? We... cannot. It is not time yet. Brother, you must come in!'

Knot drew back. 'Go in? In there, in the liquid?'

'It is the right place for us right now.'

'Who told you that?'

'They did, of course.'

'Are they teaching you to work with your power? They are human, they have no powers,' Knot pointed out. 'How can they know what is right for us?'

'One does. And they are very knowledgeable. Come in.'

Knot's tail flicked uncomfortably. 'I... would rather not go where you are. And I have to admit, I don't have much faith in these humans who keep you here.'

'...You are afraid?'

'Of water?'

Knot shifted back and forth. 'I... suppose you can see it. After I left... I just haven't felt at ease in the water.'

'Strange. We're practically aquatic.'

'That is what I find strange. We're built for land, not water.'

There was a faint beep, and the door swished open. Two older men in white lab coats stared open-mouthed at Knot. A dark-haired woman in red strode past them.

'You've finally returned,' came her crisp voice. Knot recoiled.

'You do have power! I didn't believe it. Who are you?'

'I am your trainer. It is good that you're here. We've wasted enough time already.'

The dry pokemon frowned. Flea slunk back behind his back. 'Trainer? I have no trainer.'

'You do now,' the woman said shortly. 'I am Sabrina, master of the psychic. I will teach you what you need to know.'

Knot was still for a moment, then his tail whipped. 'What do you plan to teach me?'

'I will teach you to harness your true potential.' She took a step closer. The older men had fanned out on either side of her.

'In what way?' Knot persisted skeptically. He teleported behind her. She whirled. He lifted a book from a table, making it dance through the air.

The book stopped, jerked, fell a foot. It crept towards Sabrina. Then it trembled and lurched back towards Knot.

'You are sloppy,' the dark-haired woman stated. 'You lack finesse. See what the others can do.' She smiled.

Three iron balls rose up behind her. They wove intricate patterns in the air. As they moved, they changed shape. They stretched, folded, and rippled. They almost became living things.

Knot didn't spare a glance over his shoulder, but he could feel Flea clinging tightly to the ridges of his shoulder blades.

'I can't do that,' he admitted quietly. 'It's impressive. Maybe with practice...'

A fourth iron ball rose slowly in the air. It stretched out like lumpy taffy, and gradually curled into a misshapen circle.

'You see?' Sabrina said, her mental voice betraying a smugness that her face didn't quite register. The scientists relaxed a bit, but remained alert.

'I see. But you're not training them to make sculptures.' The warped piece of iron flew at the psychic trainer, and bounced lightly off a barrier.

'Your first lesson is obedience.'

A crushing force slammed into the tall pokemon. He flew back a few yards and fell into a shelf of instruments. Flea squeaked and reappeared on his hip, under his arm, as the shiny metal tools rained down on them. The outraged Mewtwo shoved away the fallen equipment and started to rise to his feet. He felt the beginnings of the overwhelming buzz he'd gotten back at Lake Acuity.

Another wave of concentrated power smashed into him. He was better-prepared this time. He braced himself enough that he wasn't knocked flat on his back. Flea trembled.

'Stop!' Knot growled.

'Stay down,' the icy voice instructed.

Rage washed over him, as strong as any psychic attack. He stood.

'Brother, why do you resist?'

'She can help you! She can teach you!'

'She can attack me,' Knot said grimly. 'She seeks to dominate us, no more. Why should a human be allowed that?'

A third attack came. Knot snarled and released a blast of his own. The two met, crackled, and blew up. Knot slid back a foot. Sabrina, the scientists, and all the equipment around them were blown into the opposite wall. Flea clutched the pulsing ring of flesh on Knot's back.

'Why do you allow a human to control you?' Knot demanded, stalking up to the tanks, his tail lashing with each step. 'We are stronger than she is! It's unnatural.'

'She... is our teacher. She cares for us.'

'All this emotion is unnecessary, brother. Calm down and look what you're doing.'

'Calm down!? When she's fighting with me? I will not!' He shot out another blast of power as Sabrina rose up on the edge of his peripheral vision. 'I don't take orders from humans!'

The two psychic attacks crashed into each other. Sabrina's was more precise, like a knife, but Knot's was a wall of power. He staggered. She fell.

The ceiling caved in, showering them with plaster. Everyone's head shot up to see the blue orb of light descend into the lab. Inside was something that Knot and his brothers recognized on an instinctual level.

It looked like Knot, but it was built a bit heavier. Its face looked older, its tail a darker shade of purple. Its ears were not as curved. And it was angry.

***********************************

"Ready?" Maxie asked. He held a small video camera and a bag full of tiny radio transmitting devices.

"Whenever you are." Archie also held a number of little transmitters. "And it's connected?"

"Saturn says so." Maxie shrugged. "Though if they manage to recover from his last computer stunt, it may not stay that way."

"It's all we've got to work with," the bearded man said, shrugging. "And if it doesn't work out, we'll at least have our own tape to bring back."

"If we get out alive," Maxie said gloomily.

"I love your optimism. Turn it on." Archie's feral grin changed to his TV smile as Maxie pressed the 'record' button. "This is Archie reporting live from Saffon City, Kanto, where we're bringing you live footage of Team Rocket's main base. Team Rocket got its start in Kanto, but its agents can now be found all over the world. They're the many-headed hydra of the crime world, and they've made it known that they'll stop at nothing to rule the world. Well today, we will stop at nothing to show you what you can do about it. I'd like to thank the world's Pokemon Leagues, the International Police force, and our friends in Sinnoh for tuning in, along with all our other viewers."

The two men approached the Game Corner. A younger man in a black hat with a red R on it stared, then ran up to them.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" he demanded. "Why are you talking about Team Rocket? Stay out of our business!"

Archie flashed his brilliant reporter-smile. "We're doing an expose for the viewers of Hoenn and beyond. Can I get your name, please?"

"N – I don't have to tell you that!"

Archie turned back to the camera grimly. "Despite the fact that he's about to feed us his team's intimate secrets, our informant can't reveal his name to our viewers, for fear of retribution from Boss Rocket, who's rumored to be ground-type gym leader Giovanni of Viridian City. We'll call our friend here Dan, to protect his identity."

Maxie zoomed in on the Rocket's face as it went pale, mouth opening and closing like a Magikarp.

"But we have confirmed reports of the entire Team Rocket computer mainframe crashing today. Team Rocket's been dealt a major blow. How are the employees coping with this crisis, Dan?"

"How'd you know that!?" Dan's eyes flew back and forth between Archie and Maxie. Archie smiled.

"Good sources. Shall we continue inside to the hideout?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Breaking the Mold**

Part XIII

'What is the meaning of this?' The new Mewtwo's voice was deep and charged with anger. His body pulsated with a blue aura of power. 'I've warned you, and allowed you to live! You clearly don't have the sense you should have been born with.' The scientists tried to back out of the room, but were held in place.

Flea clung to Knot's tail for dear life. The moment this Mewtwo arrived, he'd gone stiff and unresponsive.

'Now! What are you waiting for?' Sabrina ordered.

The three Mewtwo in the tanks began glowing, gathering up their own yellow energy.

Knot blazed up, green. Flea whimpered softly behind him. His lip curled up in rage as he let a half-circle of energy blast from him. Sabrina hit the wall again. Mewtwo was driven back a few inches. He turned on Knot.

'Can you not control your power!? Why did you do that?'

The other three hit him with a combined attack, shattering his protective barrier. He cried out in outrage.

'Red... their eyes are red...' Flea wailed. 'And why don't you answer? Your head's like a rock! Wake up!'

Knot shook his head violently. He sent out another blast of wild power.

'Open your eyes! You aren't even aiming!' Sabrina lashed out, her mental voice burning through Knot's mind. His eyes shot open, and he struck back. The psychic gym leader crumpled on the floor. The two scientists, suddenly able to move once more, tried again to flee. They were smashed into the wall, and fell.

The largest Mewtwo had pulled up a new protective barrier. 'Listen to me! The humans created you to be their weapons. You see how weak they are. This doesn't have to be your life.'

'It is the enemy,' three voices droned in perfect synch.

'...Is is the ENEMY,' joined in another, a half-second off-beat. 'Destroy it?'

Mewtwo turned to the obvious weak link. Knot was shaking his head violently, his eyes squeezed shut.

'I am not your enemy,' Mewtwo said. 'The humans are. They used you, you can see that.'

'What're you doing?' moaned Flea. Spurts of psychic energy shot out from Knot, without focus or direction. The tattoo on his ear seemed to writhe like a ball of snakes.

'I don't know,' the distressed pokemon groaned. He couldn't seem to control his body or mind.

Mewtwo raised a hand, and the three tubes of liquid across the room shattered. The pokemon inside washed out. While they struggled to regain their bearings, the larger one turned back to Knot and encircled him in a blue sphere of glowing power. Knot's green energy grew more frantic.

'Do not fight me.' It was either a command or a plea, Knot couldn't tell.

'Stop,' the Abra on his back urged. 'He's strong, he'll hurt you!'

'They created me, also,' Mewtwo said. 'And they thought they could use me. But I am stronger, I am not a slave to any human. Nor are you.'

Knot lowered his head. It was buzzing and throbbing. Flea climbed up to stand on his shoulder. She put her hand on his head, both for support and to try to get through the haze she felt in him. A single clawed finger landed on the squirming tattoo on his ear.

The knot untied.

Knot's head shot up so fast that Flea almost fell. He staggered. 'What did you do?' Energy stopped shooting out from his body.

'I – I don't know! I didn't think I was doing anything!'

Knot cautiously looked at the larger Mewtwo, whose eyes hadn't left him. He no longer had the uncontrollable urge to destroy it.

'Let me out,' he said quietly, his tail brushing against the blue barrier the other had placed around him.

The globe flickered and died. The two watched each other carefully.

A thick yellow sphere appeared around Mewtwo. He whirled to face the other three. A blue barrier appeared inside the yellow as it began to contract, and the two fizzled when they met, but did not bleed into each other. The yellow could not pass the blue. But Mewtwo seemed to be having trouble breathing.

'Wait,' Knot demanded, dodging around fallen equipment to get to the other three. 'I don't think he's really our enemy.'

'He is THE enemy,' his largest brother insisted. Their eyes never left the struggling invader.

'Why, though?'

'We were made to defeat him.'

'Look what he did to our humans!'

'That was me... partly. The humans weren't good to me. They probably weren't so good to you, either.'

'Don't listen to the enemy's lies!'

'I don't have to! I saw for myself! I won't be dominated by a human. Or a pokemon. I make my own way. You should, too. We're stronger than that.'

'We are stronger than this, too.' The yellow sphere was beginning to squeeze Mewtwo.

Knot turned to Flea. 'Whatever you did to me, can you do it to them, too?'

'I – I can try!'

The little Abra vanished, then popped onto the shoulder of Knot's largest brother. He jumped and stumbled, his concentration broken. Flea groped around and quickly touched the knot on the taller pokemon's ear. The tattoo moved under his touch, but remained as it was.

The pokemon Flea had attached herself to grabbed at her, but she teleported back to the base of Knot's tail.

Knot reached out and grabbed his nearest brother's head. The mark on his ear squirmed and untied.

'Wh – what are you doing?'

'These things are causing all the trouble here.' Knot pushed past his bewildered brother to touch the next one's tattoo. He fell back in confusion.

Now Knot stood face-to-face with his largest brother, the one who had always been the most vocal.

'What did you do to them?' the larger one accused, horrified.

'I can't just let this... thing control you,' Knot said, taking a step closer.

'Who says it controls us? When you break it, the enemy can get in! Look at the others!'

The two Mewtwo behind Knot were watching, wide-eyed, as if their world had shattered.

'We shouldn't fight amongst ourselves,' Knot said, trying to keep his voice low. 'We are brothers. Don't you trust me?'

'I trust you. But I do not trust all the bad influences that have led you to think like this!'

Blue energy crackled through the air, catching Knot's brother by surprise. He turned and tripped over a plastic box. Knot moved to catch him.

Ear brushed arm.

The knot writhed and strained. Knot fumbled and pressed on it.

The tattoo distorted, stretching to one side and the other. With a small POP, it untangled. Knot's largest brother went limp.

*******************************

"And what would you say Team Rocket's greatest strength is?" Archie asked Rocket Dan as they walked down the hallway.

"We're pretty much unstoppable," Dan preened. "There are thousands of us all over the world."

"And your boss's goal is world domination, correct?"

"Sure. Why stop at anything less?"

"Well some would say, why stop there. But let's just say you succeed. As an ordinary grunt, what's your role in the world of the future?"

"Oh, I'm gonna get promoted," Dan assured the intruders. "I'm hoping the Boss will give me an island or something."

Maxie rolled his eyes. He paused with the camera to stick something under a wall lamp, and lengthened his stride to catch up again. The small dot began to flash red, but only on the side that was attached to the wall. The casual observer would pass by without noticing a thing.

The signal vibrated its way out to radio frequencies, over land and sea. The most powerful radio towers received it. Radio stations, Pokemon Leagues, and police departments puzzled over the odd series of signals that moved like a living trail in Saffron, Kanto. They seemed to be heading west.

In Sinnoh, Saturn was ready to catch each signal and amplify it. He made it a digital image, and inserted it in the lower right corner of his computer screen. The television signal he was broadcasting was a little scratchy, but people all over the world were now learning the intimate secrets of Team Rocket. They even had their own map of the base forming. Porygon Z danced around the edges of the screen, fending off attacks from cyberspace. It kept a close eye out for attempts at system recovery in Kanto, as well.

At Sinnoh's international police station, squads were being mobilized. They piled into helicopters, armed with both weaponry and pokemon. The helicopters lifted off, making a beeline for Kanto.

Archie and Maxie were aware of the possibility of what was happening, though they had no way to confirm it. Their new friend Dan hadn't a clue.

"And how do you feel about using pokemon to injure humans?" Archie asked as he walked briskly down the long hall. They were in a secret tunnel between Saffron and Viridian. Dan had carefully made sure the door was closing before continuing. And Maxie had carefully slapped a piece of tape and a transmitter over its locking mechanism so that any light touch could open it again. Dan was too fixated on the camera and microphone to notice.

"I mean, it's pretty much your own fault if you let a pokemon attack you," Dan said with a shrug. "We've got a job to do, and we'll do it whatever way works best, you know?"

Maxie bit back a scathing piece of sarcasm that threatened to pop out. His tongue was starting to hurt from doing it so many times.

"So how long have you been a part of Team Rocket?" Archie asked.

"Two years now."

"And in those two years, how many times have you seen your boss?"

"Um... two or three times," Dan said, trying to remember.

"Two or three times in two years," Archie repeated, raising his eyebrows dramatically at the camera. "Why so few times?"

"I mean, he's busy, you know?" Dan explained. "And there's thousands of us, like I said. We've got admins to pass orders down to us, he doesn't need to do everything in person."

"That's interesting. So do you even know where his office and quarters are located?"

"Of course I do," Dan insisted. "I mean, the first thing you're told in Team Rocket is where not to go. So of course that's the first place we check out."

"I don't know," Archie said, turning away from him a bit to look at the camera. "If he's so secretive, I doubt you'd really know where to find him. After all, you're just a grunt."

"I do know!" Dan protested. "He lives in Viridian, and he's got an office there, and one in Saffron!"

"Well... I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on that," conceded Archie. "You're probably right. But of course, you wouldn't know where he is right now."

Dan flushed angrily. "What, do you think I'm dumb or something? I'm not telling you that!"

"I understand," Archie said. "He doesn't tell you anything. So how could you know where he is from day to day? He could have died a month ago, and you'd have no idea. It's not your fault."

"What? No, that's not true! I know exactly where he is. And let me tell you, you'll regret it when we run into him. Just wait."

Archie smiled pleasantly at Dan, then turned back to the camera. "Having confirmed that Giovanni, boss of Team Rocket, is hiding out in Viridian City, our informant continues to lead us nearer. But will we be satisfied with our findings? Is the mysterious Giovanni as fearsome as rumor dictates? Will our friend Dan still have a job when we reach our destination?"

"...Or a pulse?" Maxie couldn't help adding.

"Stay tuned to find out!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Breaking the Mold**

Number XIV

Knot gently lowered his largest brother to the ground, glanced warily at Mewtwo, and rushed over to the other two.

'Are you all right?' he asked urgently.

'Dizzy...'

'What... just happened?'

'I'm not sure... but I think the things on our ears made us fixate on destroying our target. Him.' Knot jerked his head towards Mewtwo, who was watching them carefully. 'We don't really need to. I don't think he's here to hurt us.'

'I'm not,' a deeper voice added. Three heads turned to Mewtwo. 'The humans deserve retribution, but you were innocent in all this. You did not ask to be created.'

Knot paused. Something seemed slightly wrong about that, but he couldn't say what it was. Flea clung to his tail nervously.

'But...' the smallest Mewtwo spoke up hesitantly. 'Then who do we fight? Our purpose was to fight him... and others. Who else is there?'

'I had a similar dilemma,' Mewtwo assured them. 'You will have to work to find a new purpose.'

'How?' the other one asked. 'This is all we know. This is what we were trained for all our lives. What else is there?'

'Just... live,' said Knot. 'Just go and survive. You'll find things, I'm sure. I can help you.'

'So you've found a new purpose? What is it?'

Knot hesitated. 'My purpose was to find you... Now I'll have to find something else. But from what I've seen, you don't always need some purpose to live for. Sometimes you just live for the living, and that's fine.'

The other two looked at each other doubtfully.

Mewtwo nodded his approval. And was blown back by a blast of yellow. Knot and his two smaller brothers crashed into the back wall. Glass shattered. The fallen Mewtwo in the center of the room rose, shining with a pale light so bright that the others had to squint.

'WEAK-MINDED!' The two smallest Mewtwo were slammed into the wall again.

'CORRUPTED!' Knot was flattened into the floor.

'BLASPHEMOUS!' Mewtwo was knocked back, but he was prepared enough to skid to a halt before touching the wall.

'What are you doing!?' The smallest one pulled itself up. 'You are out of control, too emotional! We are your brothers! Stop!'

'You've lost sight of what we are!' Another yellow blast spiraled out around the room. 'All of you! This is unacceptable!'

'And attacking us is acceptable to you?' Knot snarled. 'You, who always reminded me that we were the only ones we could really trust? And now we can't trust you not to attack us? Look what you're doing!'

The glowing pokemon paused, swaying.

'You've been misled,' Mewtwo said, almost gently. 'It isn't your fault. But this must end now.'

'You're right,' the other said slowly, his pupils contracting to tiny points. 'It's time for it to end.'

The glowing light exploded. Flea shrieked, grabbed Knot, and they both disappeared.

**********************************

"Out of curiosity, how does Team Rocket feel about the teams they encounter in the other regions?" Archie asked. "Are they considered threats? Potential allies?"

"Nah, we don't care much about them," Dan said with a shrug as he led them deeper through the tunnels of Viridian City. "Most of the time we leave them alone. If they take over their region, it's just one quick step to overthrow them and get it for ourselves."

"And have you had much luck with that so far?"

"Well not yet, but we're working on Hoenn. It shouldn't take long!"

"Oh really," Archie said dryly. "Why is that?"

"Have you ever heard of Team Aqua and Team Magma? Probably not, because they're weak morons with no vision. They were trying to make more water or more land in the world. I mean, who does that? And they were too busy fighting each other to get anything done. Pretty pathetic, if you ask me."

Archie looked at Maxie. Maxie managed to drag his death glare away from Dan.

"And Team Rocket's goal of ruling the world," Archie continued, his voice cool and calm. "That doesn't seem at all farfetched to you?"

"Are you kidding? We've got a presence all over the world! We OWN most of the continent and almost every small island. It's just a matter of time."

"What would you say is your biggest obstacle to that goal?"

"Hm..." Dan looked up at the ceiling as he walked. Maxie ground his teeth and resisted the urge to kick the Rocket. "I'd have to say competent man-power. Our executives and special agents can't be beat, but each crop of new grunts is dumber than the last."

"I believe it," Archie said smoothly. "And about about your current software situation?"

"Huh? Oh, some joker thought it'd be funny to hack the system." Dan shrugged. "I think it's gotta be an inside job. Nobody could hack Team Rocket unless they were already in."

Archie and Maxie shared a smirk. They stopped.

"There you have it, folks," Archie said. "Straight from our senior Team Rocket informant. Although each computer screen clearly shows the symbol of Sinnoh's Galactic Corporation, we're told it must have been done by a Team Rocket Member. A clever ploy to protect him- or herself, no doubt."

"Hey..." Dan frowned. "I never told you what was on the computers."

"No need," Maxie said. "It's right there." His finger appeared on the video feed, pointing at the ten-foot long screen on the wall. It was blue with a gold G.

Archie smiled into the camera, ignoring Dan's latest panic attack. "I think it's clear that the one responsible for this is quite skilled, wherever that person may be. But let's dig deeper. What is being done about this threat to Team Rocket's security?"

"Clearly not enough," came a deep voice from the shadows. Out stepped a man in an orange suit. His piercing eyes took in the three men and the camera. A Persian prowled beside him. It yowled ominously.

*******************************

'What!? Where is this place?' Knot whirled around fearfully. He was in a new building. About six humans were staring at him.

'Indigo Plateau Pokemon Center,' Flea squeaked. She squeezed his tail tightly. 'Away from... from them. It's not safe there.'

Knot looked around. One wide-eyed girl edged closer, clutching a pokeball.

'Don't try it,' the pokemon admonished darkly. She blinked. And he was gone.

Back in the lab, the power had gone out. Knot landed on something sharp, but as he stumbled around, there seemed to be no clear place to stand. He reached out, and immediately masses of power flowed into him. His green energy glowed.

The room was in ruins. Everything was broken on the ground. Knot heard a groan to the right. His smaller brothers lay, pinned down by a huge set of metal shelves. Knot quickly levitated the heavy thing off of them.

'Are you all right?' he asked, kneeling down beside them.

'It hurts... it's just like before,' one moaned.

'Flea, where's a safe place in Kanto with no humans?'

'Er... the forests. Or maybe Seafoam Island.' Her voice seemed to blur around the edges.

'No,' came a low voice from across the room. 'The Cerulean Cave. I can show you.'

The first Mewtwo shifted the rubble as he rose to his feet. He gingerly stepped over to the last one on the ground and lifted him up. Knot reached out tentatively.

'Do you see it?'

'Yes, that's very clear!'

'Good. Then follow me.' Mewtwo and the unconscious Mewtwo vanished. Knot, the two smaller brothers and Flea did the same.

They reappeared deep in a dim cavern. Unlike the riverside cave in Hoenn, there was no sign of the sun here. The walls glowed with an eerie phosphorescence. Mewtwo carefully lowered the largest brother to the ground, and Knot let go of the smaller ones. Flea was trembling. So were the smaller Mewtwo.

'Where is this?' Knot asked, looking around. Golbats flitted through the air. Water dripped from the ceiling.

'It's next to Cerulean City, to the northwest of Saffron. This is my home when I'm in Kanto,' Mewtwo explained. He nodded at the other two, who had edged closer to Knot. 'You should rest. I imagine you'll want to move on when you're ready.'

'What what about... our brother?' the shortest one asked hesitantly. 'What will you do with him?'

'With your permission, I'd like him to stay with me for a while. He's troubled, you felt his mind. He needs to learn to balance himself out before he is ready to go out on his own.'

The smaller two looked at each other, then back at Mewtwo and their fallen brother. 'Then.. we will stay as well,' the taller of the two spoke up. 'He's our brother, and we won't leave him.'

Mewtwo's tail twitched, and he turned to Knot. 'And you?'

'I... don't know,' Knot admitted. 'This was the end of my plans.'

Mewtwo laughed. 'You gave quite a nice speech about living life without a plan, earlier.'

'I know... but I'll have to think about it. I think I'll stay for now, if it's not a problem. Then... we'll see, I guess!'

'Good. I think the five of us may have much to learn from each other.'

'How do you live in a place like this?' the quietest one spoke up. 'There is no food... no light... and who knows what's in the water.'

'We will find our food,' Knot assured him. 'There must be berry patches everywhere outside. And plenty of humans turn their backs on their lunches.'

'Actually, Kanto isn't known for growing many berries,' Mewtwo said. 'Though I do know a few secluded patches. And stealing food from humans is not a good way to subsist. But as long as we do not gorge ourselves, we will have berries and mushrooms. I will show you what is safe. The water is perfectly fine, and we have enough light here to see by.'

Flea peeked out from behind Knot's back, and he absently curled his tail around her.

'It will take some adjustment, I think,' Knot said softly. He looked down at his unconscious brother. There was no sign of any marking left on his ear. He twitched now and then. The other two sat down by him.

Knot hesitated, then walked over to a corner. He lifted Flea around with his tail. She was still shaking.

'Are you all right?'

'Guess I'll be.' She sounded shaky, too.

'You don't want to be here. You don't have to stay.'

'NO!' the Abra shrieked. She attached herself to Knot's arm. 'Stay with you! I don't want... no... alone... they...'

'Ah! Calm down, it's all right!' Knot said hastily. 'You can stay, I never meant you couldn't. You just feel like you don't want to.'

'Wanna stay with you,' Flea mumbled, curling into his chest.

'Okay. Then stay.'

The yellow pokemon sighed and passed out.

Knot looked up to find Mewtwo watching him.

'I'd like very much to know how you arrived here... May I see?'

'...See? Er, all right.'

A cool rush passed through Knot's mind. He shook his head.

'You've traveled a long way.'

'It seems like a whole different world from when I first became aware.'

Mewtwo frowned. 'I must apologize, if I can... What I attacked the lab in Hoenn, I was not thinking of the consequences you would face.'

'It was you!? You know six others died there?'

'I know. It was too rash an action for me to take. I had only meant to harm the humans.'

Knot stared at him. 'Someone once told me... that Mewtwo hates everyone and lives only for revenge.

'That... is no longer true -'

'But it was in the past. And you still live by it.' Knot frowned. 'I see your remorse. That doesn't make it right.'

'I know. I cannot atone, I can only live with it.'

'That's true.' Knot turned away from him.

'I'm sorry...'

'We will have to learn from your mistakes.'


	15. Chapter 15

**Breaking the Mold**

Part XV

"B-boss!" Rocket grunt Dan stuttered. "I – I was just -"

"Taking the leaders of the defunct Teams Aqua and Magma on a private tour," the Boss finished icily. "I can see that. Perhaps now you could make time in your busy schedule to escort them to a holding cell." He turned on his heel and talked back towards Viridian. Maxie lowered the camera, though he didn't turn it off. He glanced at Archie. They both looked at Dan.

Dan was white as a sheet. "C-c'mon," he said, still staring at his boss's back. "Get a move on!"

The Persian prowled around the group as they walked. After a while, Archie discreetly dropped a radio transmitter on the ground. Persian whirled and leapt on it, sinking a claw into the tiny device. Then a paw blurred up in an arc to slash Archie's hand. He yelled, dropping the small bag.

Giovanni looked over his shoulder as Persian bounded to Maxie, who was hastily stuffing his own transmitters and the camera into his long coat. With a few practiced swipes, his pockets were in ribbons and the contents spilled on the floor.

"Let's drop the attempts, gentlemen," the short-haired man said. "I know why you're here. Plenty of others have tried to break into Team Rocket. Not many have been as successful as you up until now. And frankly, not many are alive to tell the tale."

Persian snatched up the camera in its teeth, slashed Maxie's arm as he made a grab for it, and padded back to its master, who took it. He calmly opened it up, dropped the tape on the ground, and neatly smashed it under his heel. Then he hurled the camera itself into a wall with a fury belied by his calm exterior.

They continued along the dark hallway until Giovanni stopped at a section of wall quite like any other. He took out a key card and inserted it into a wall scone. With a click, a door slid open on the other side of the hallway. A guard stepped out, a gun in his hand and an Arbok by his side.

"All three," Giovanni said shortly. "Keep an eye on them. And if anyone else tries to get in, shoot to kill."

"Yes, sir!" the guard said, saluting smartly.

Giovanni stayed for a moment to watch them go into three cells, Dan separating the two Hoennites, then left without another word.

Dan moaned and sank to the ground. Maxie walked from one end of his cell to the other, peering out through the bars.

"There must be dozens of cells here," he commented to Archie. "I can't see the end."

"Hey," the guard said, hefting his weapon. "Shut up."

"Your orders were to watch us and shoot anyone ELSE," Maxie reminded him coldly. "Your boss won't be happy if you harm us."

"Yeah, well I'm telling you now to keep quiet. I don't need your attitude here, and the Boss sure as hell doesn't need all your limbs to question you."

Yelling broke out from down the row. The guard glared at Maxie before running towards the noise. His Arbok followed.

"Now I'll be executed," Dan announced glumly. "And it's your fault. I hate you."

"Nah," Archie said. "You helped us out. We'll make sure you at least see daylight again."

"Oh yeah? You're stuck in here too."

"For now," Archie agreed. He lay down on the floor and stared up at the ceiling. Dan paced feverishly. Maxie leaned against the back wall of his cell, waiting.

"Archie," the tallest man said tersely. "What if -"

"For now," Archie said again, more firmly.

******************************

The largest Mewtwo clone's eyes popped open. He looked around. The other two were there beside him, and he relaxed slightly.

'Where are we?' he asked.

'In a cave. The... other one brought us here.'

'Good, you're awake.' Mewtwo stepped over carefully, and set down a large leaf full of berries and mushrooms. 'Eat, it will help. You will need your strength from now on.'

'Why should you help us?' asked the largest one, sitting up and ignoring the dizziness that struck him. 'We are no friends of yours.'

'We are the same. The only ones of our kind, and created for the wrong reasons. We probably have more than that in common.'

'Where is our brother?'

'He is there.' Mewtwo nodded to a corner where Knot sat holding the Abra that had been clinging to him since he arrived. 'He's safe, don't worry. As are you. Please, eat.'

The other's empty stomach contracted. But the weaker two were looking to him. If they gobbled this down, and it was poison, he would be responsible for all three deaths.

Knot appeared, paused, and hesitantly sat down beside them, but a little apart. He took a small red berry and crunched it, seeming to enjoy the flavor. His three brothers watched him nervously.

'It's not as good as Hoenn or Sinnoh's berries,' Knot decided. 'But it's not bad.' He took a larger yellow one.

'You... have eaten this before?' his brother asked doubtfully.

'Oh yes, all the time. I like them all, but you may have more of a preference. Try a few. These ones are all good, they won't muddle your head or leave a bad taste in your mouth.'

The other Mewtwo cautiously picked up a pink berry. The smaller two watched intently as he raised it to his mouth and chewed.

'Too sweet,' he said, making a face.

'The others won't be. Try something else. You too,' Knot urged all his brothers, popping another of the sweet pecha berries into his mouth.

Within minutes, they were devouring all the food. Mewtwo stood outside their circle, munching on his own supply of fruit and mushrooms.

When at last they were finished, the three felt much better. The dizziness melted away, and the gnawing unease faded a bit.

'We can't stay in this... cave... forever,' the leader of the three informed Mewtwo.

'No, you can't,' the larger pokemon agreed. 'So while you recover, you should look for other acceptable homes. Someplace where humans do not go. I can help, if you like.'

'Me too,' Knot spoke up. 'I saw a few nice places in Sinnoh and Hoenn. I... well, it's up to you where you go. But I don't really want to stay in Kanto.'

'All right... how soon can we go?'

'It's growing dark out,' Mewtwo said. 'Rest tonight, and tomorrow we will start the search. And perhaps see if we can start to even out the skill gap between you three and your brother.'

'I know,' Knot sighed. 'I've had no formal training, I have much to learn... I've heard it all before.'

'You have much to improve and refine. But your range of abilities is much broader. They have much to learn from you, as well.'

'...Oh!' A smile grew on Knot's face. 'I didn't think of that.'

Mewtwo looked up as if he heard a noise. '...But for now, you'll have to excuse me. I'll be back soon.'

'You're going to Team Rocket?' Knot asked, laying Flea down and walking over.

'Yes. I see an opportunity.'

'Can I go?'

Mewtwo stopped and looked at Knot. 'I'll only be there for a few minutes. It won't be worth your trouble.'

'Would you mind?'

'Well... no, I suppose not. Just keep quiet.'

Knot just had time to nod to his brothers before the two of them disappeared.

They reappeared in a broom closet. Knot nearly fell forward, but caught himself in time. Mewtwo's teleportation was more precise, but also far more forceful than his own.

'What exactly are we doing?' he asked.

'Listen. And watch.'

There were slats in the closet's door that they could see through. They heard footsteps striding towards them. In a minute, a man in an orange suit came into view. He seemed to have a permanent glare fixed to his face. A large Persian walked beside him. He stopped in front of the door, and looked around angrily. He seemed to be struggling.

Knot looked at Mewtwo, who was smiling darkly. 'You?'

'Of course. Time he had a taste of his own medicine. But it will get far worse for him in a few minutes.'

'Can I do anything?'

'Hmm... You could set all the prisoners free, that annoys him.'

'All right. Where?'

Pictures slid into his mind. 'One for pokemon, and one for humans. But don't take too long, you'll want to see this.'

'Okay!' Knot disappeared. He reappeared in a room packed from floor to ceiling with row upon row of cages. Large and small, common and rare pokemon were crammed inside, often more than one to a cage. Knot looked around.

A door opened behind him, and he whirled around. A brown-haired man in a lab coat gasped. "Y-you!"

'I... know you. You are one of them.'

"You're the specimen that got away! You're alive!"

'As are you, for the time being. How do I open these cages quickly?'

The scientist hesitated. "The boss..."

'...Is otherwise occupied, and not here. I am.'

Dr. Langes swallowed, glancing around. "It's... a code on the computer."

'Well then, type it in, and you'll live. Try anything else, and I think you know the extent of what I can do to you.'

"When the boss find out, I'm dead anyway," the man said morosely, but walked cautiously over to a computer.

'That may not be a problem.' Knot watched as the scientist typed in a few things. The cages doors creaked open.

'...You don't want to be here right now,' Knot both observed and advised.

Langes shook his head.

'So run. Run fast, run far away from here.' He turned to the pokemon as the man fled. 'You know your way out?'

'Oh, yes,' a familiar Wobuffet replied. Most of the others nodded or cried their assent.

'Then go now. If you don't know, follow the others. Keep heading up.' Knot vanished.

He reappeared in a narrow hallway lined with cells.

"WHAT is THAT!?" cried a voice. A young man in black backed into the wall of his cell, staring at Knot and trembling.

"That... is the Mewtwo," a tall man with red hair on his right said. The man in blue on the left stood and came closer for a better look. Faces appeared in most of the cells.

"Wow, it really is! That's incredible! I wish we hadn't lost the camera," the one in blue said.

'Is there a quick way to open all the cells at once?'

"There should be. The guard would know. Or maybe Dan here?" the blue-clad man gestured at the younger one next to him.

'I don't think so.' Knot turned towards the guard and Arbok changing towards him. 'The release switch?' He nodded. 'Thank you.' A psychic blast knocked them to the floor as they drew near. Both fainted.

Knot looked around quickly, and lifted the keys from the unconscious guard. They flew into Archie's cell. 'Release yourself and one other. There are switches at opposite ends of this hall that must be pressed together.'

He vanished. Archie began trying keys. He found the one on his fifth try, and stepped over to do the same for Maxie.

"This day gets weirder every minute," the taller man commented.

"No kidding!"

******************************

Knot landed back in the broom closet in a soft rush of air. 'Did I miss anything?'

'Some very... colorful language. But otherwise, no. You freed them all?'

'The pokemon. I gave a human the keys and told him how to open the doors.'

Mewtwo frowned. 'You think he will do it? Humans are known to save their own skins when under stress.'

'He seemed to have every intention of doing so.'

'Well if he doesn't, the other will not have to wait very long.'

Voices and footsteps were echoing down the corridor. The man in front of them cursed and pulled on his legs, but he seemed to be glued to the spot.

"Hey, I see something up ahead!" called a voice. "Freeze!"

Giovanni snarled, his hands curling into fists. Persian growled low, crouching for a pounce.


	16. Epilogue

**Breaking the Mold**

Epilogue

Saturn was in the TV room, flipping through the channels when he saw a familiar face. Archie was speaking seriously to the camera. An inset of Giovanni's scowling face was to his right.

"...one week since the capture of Team Rocket boss Giovanni. His trial will be held on March fourth at the Sinnoh Pokemon League Stadium. Team Rocket's presence has always been weak in Sinnoh, so the trial will be fair and just."

"Again, I'd like to remind all former Team Rocket members to report to the nearest Pokemon Center. The member database has been recovered, and anyone who does not submit to questioning will be subject to fines and jail time. If you have any information, or questions, please dial the number at the bottom of the screen. Operators are standing by to take your call."

The camera switched to Maxie. He was sweating in the high lights, and his stare was a bit more fixed and less friendly than Archie's. "Reports of an extremely rare pokemon have come to the attention of AMEP and other organizations around the world." A rough sketch of Mewtwo appeared behind him. "It is known to be very secretive and intelligent, as well as potentially deadly. It is a psychic type, and has been seen in parts of Kanto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. There may be more than one. Anyone encountering this creature is urged to keep their distance. Any trainer found to be in possession of one will have it immediately freed, and will be fined 5,000,000 pokedollars."

"I'd leave it alone!" Archie commented. "So now we'll turn to Courtney, with the weather."

"...But the pokemon wanted to avoid humans," Tethys said. Saturn turned to find his entire staff behind him. "Won't that just make people look for it?"

"Yes, but they'll think twice before throwing a pokeball," Saturn said. "Is anyone watching the front desk?"

"Got it on surveillance," piped up Dione the receptionist. "Why didn't they mention what you did, sir?"

"Two reasons," explained Saturn. "One, for protection. I don't want a bunch of angry thugs showing up on our doorstep. And also, if I ever need to do anything like that again, it'll be easier if every hacker on the planet doesn't know who I am. I talked to Archie, he's not saying anything."

Dione sighed. "I guess that's smart. But it'd be nice to get some recognition for a change."

"I know. We'll get it for something else, though. You'll see!"

"But sir, won't our emblem be recognized on their computers?" Rhea, the recently promoted second in command pointed out.

"True. But I don't know anything about that, do you?" Saturn asked, grinning.

Rhea just raised her eyebrows.

******************************

'Pst!'

Roth's head jerked up, and he looked around. Leon's eyes rotated. They hung in the branches of a large tree in the middle of the safari zone's central grove. Both had lost weight and were no longer glowing with health.

'Hey!' the voice came again.

Leon looked up, and almost fell out of the tree. 'Knot!'

'What? Knot?' Roth scrambled up out of his hanging position. He swung up closer to the larger pokemon, a little awkwardly.

'What are you doing here?' asked Knot, perched on a higher branch. 'It feels like a home for insane pokemon!'

'Is,' Roth moaned. 'Can't get out! Only if humans catch. Not want!' He unconsciously rubbed at a bald spot on his stomach. It was red with constant friction.

'Of course you don't,' Knot said. 'But there are better ways to get out. Come on.'

The three of them vanished. They reappeared inside the dripping riverside cave.

Three Linoone looked up at their arrival.

'Out,' Knot ordered. 'Find your own place to live. Not here.'

They took one look and scuttled out, tails between their legs.

Roth gave a happy shriek and began racing around the cave, touching every inch of it, even rolling through the water. Leon turned slowly to take it all in, then toppled over on his back with a deep sigh of relief.

'How you do that?' he asked.

'I learned a lot since we parted ways,' Knot said with a grin. 'I've been all over Sinnoh and Kanto, met pokemon and humans, found and freed my brothers, saw the humans responsible got what was coming to them...'

Roth swung down from a ledge with a whoop, long arms wrapping around Knot and licking the taller pokemon with careless abandon. He heard a startled squeak, and dropped to lick the Abra on Knot's tail in the face. She grimaced and shivered in disgust, but he had already somersaulted off to one of the deeper pools. He began cleaning himself thoroughly, almost hair-by-hair. The Vigoroth still trembled with excitement, and might have even been crying.

'Thanks,' Leon said. 'For coming back. Missed you.'

'Stay?' asked Roth, glancing up from his task.

'No... not right now, anyway,' Knot said slowly. 'My brothers still need me. But later, I might. I haven't decided what I'll do yet.'

'Be good if you did,' Leon said.

Knot looked around and nodded. 'I agree. I've missed this place.'

'You brothers okay?'

'Yes... they're getting used to living outside, like I did. Their bodies are more ready, but their minds have far more adjusting to do. My little brothers are progressing well, but my big brother sometimes gets stuck. He is more set in his ways. I think Mewtwo likes him best. I'm not really sure why.'

'Mewtwo?' Leon asked. 'Like, real, first Mewtwo? He scary?'

Knot paused. 'No... not really. I don't always like him, but he's not scary.'

'Hm,' Leon grunted reflectively. 'But you strong like him. So not scary to you.'

'I guess you're right.'

The Kecleon shrugged. 'I need wash before Roth finish and do for me. You come back later?' he asked, and Roth looked up hopefully.

'I will,' Knot promised. 'For now, here's something so you can rest for the time being.' He vanished, and reappeared a minute later with a bucket of berries and two bagged lunches. Roth growled happily.

Leon laughed, a dry clicking sound, all K's. 'You know, that why we bring you here first? So you can get us things.'

'And you could sit here waiting for me?' Knot grinned. 'I don't know about that. But it does make things easier. You eat and rest, I'll be back in a day or so. ...You both look awful.'

'Hmph,' the Kecleon grumbled. 'You try live for... Not know how long, no safe place, no relax, just run and hide every minute. Not look so good, either.'

'Well take some time to recover. I'll see you later!' He waved cheerfully, and was gone.

Roth came over and splashed water gently over Leon. He began to rub his friend's dulled scales.

'Hey. Hey! Quit, I do myself,' the chameleon pokemon protested.

'Then do! Gray.' The Vigoroth pointed at Leon's skin. 'Bad. Be green.'

'I know, I know,' said the Kecleon, heaving himself back to his feet. 'I going.'

Roth watched to make sure, then turned back to cleaning his own ragged fur.

*******************************

Police officers swarmed all over Viridian and Saffron City. They used x-ray scanners, metal detectors, and heat seekers to search through Team Rocket's network of tunnels. A few Rockets who had turned themselves in were there, guiding them through the labyrinth. Among them were Doctors Langes and Celac, and Wendy the grunt. Professors Sebastian and Hern were sitting in holding cells with minor injuries, and Sabrina was still unconscious in the hospital. Nelson had turned himself in. Capone hadn't been found. And Dan, who had led the world on a tour on international television, begged for a life-sentence in the highest security prison on the planet. He requested a cell with no windows. He jumped at small noises.

Giovanni stood at the back of his own cell, and indignant scowl on his face. Dan would have trembled to know how close together they were. The interfering foreigners had done their piece. But the continent still answered to him, and it would take more than the past week's events to change that. The Leagues of Kanto and Johto wouldn't stand for this treatment. The Boss had every faith that they would demand the Viridian Gym Leader's release. It was just a matter of time...

In a bunker in Mahogany Town, Johto, Giovanni's face was still on the TV screen. The imposing man watching fingered a heavy, crystalline mask. His mouth twisted into a cruel smile. He picked up a phone.

"Just lay low for now," he said in a shadowy voice. "We can ride this out, and profit from it."

**********************************

In their explorations, the Mewtwo occasionally encountered a human or two. The pokemon kept their distance, and most humans seemed to respect that. Those who did not found themselves lost in a forest, with no recollection of the last month or two of their lives.

The clones had moved north, to the continent's wild mountains. It was the perfect place to hone their skills and be alone. Knot visited often, and sometimes they visited him. They toyed with the idea of names, but decided it wasn't worth the trouble.

Mewtwo stopped by when he could. He also popped in on Giovanni, but always invisibly. The powerful man was soon moved to his permanent residence at an isolated, high-security prison in the Orange Islands.

**********************************

Knot was flying over Hoenn one day when a Crobat zipped up to him.

'Master says thanks,' it informed him.

The psychic pokemon stopped short. 'Who? I remember you, but who's your master?'

'Master Archie. Thanks. You,' the smaller one repeated. Knot remembered it had said that before, but this time an image of a human appeared on the tip of the poison pokemon's mind, surrounded by warm feelings.

'Oh... that's right, he was in Team Rocket's dungeon. Did all the humans get out?'

'Yes. Saw, me. All happy.'

'I'm glad to hear that.'

'Master Archie, Maxie... mm... other human, smaller human, far away, all fight Rockets,' the Crobat struggled to articulate. 'Now, yes! You help. So, master, friends, good you.'

'Oh. Er... good,' said Knot, trying to keep up. Non-psychic pokemon could be difficult to understand sometimes. 'I'm glad they succeeded.'

Crobat nodded, having no such troubles with Knot's clear communication. 'Master say, you need, they help, too. They in Lilycove. Or...' it tried to remember. 'Veilrock? Maybe, in Sinnoh, far away.'

'Hm... I doubt I'll need it, but you can thank them for the offer. I expect you be wanting to get back to them now.'

Crobat shrieked quietly in agreement, and turned to float down on the breeze.

*****************************

Meanwhile in the Sevii Islands, Mewtwo was smashing, tearing, and pounding. The whole Rocket warehouse and lab were becoming a huge ball of twisted metal and concrete. When all the debris was packed together, a blue sphere flickered to life around it, and the ball began to shrink.

At last, Mewtwo was satisfied. He rose in the air with his house-sized ball. His hands glowed with psychic energy. Without ever touching it, he swung the globe of rubble in a circle, curving around in multiple rings, picking up speed upon each revolution. Finally, he flung it straight up.

The ball whistled as it flew. Startled flying pokemon fled from it. It passed the clouds, and Mewtwo followed in its wake. Both picked up more and more speed the higher they went.

The sky around them began to fade to a darker blue. Stars appeared, faint at first, but growing ever stronger. The ball began to burn as they shot through the atmosphere.

With a clang, the ball hit something, but never slowed down. Mewtwo looked guiltily at the falling satellite, then saw a large red R on it. He nodded in satisfaction.

At last, he and the steaming ball of rock and fused metal stopped. Again, he swung his arm. The ball made a U-turn around his back and was hurled out into the blackest depths of space. Mewtwo watched it disappear from view.

'That should break the mold for a while,' he said to himself. Then he turned back to the world, his world, and disappeared.

. . .

. . .

Notes: Thanks for reading and reviewing! :)


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